Tricks and Clones May Make Us Groan, But
by Bernie Black
Summary: Something strange is happening in Ponyville. Our 6 heroines are being harassed by... each other. Is it a cloning experiment gone wrong or are these visitors from an alternate universe? And who is the mysterious white creature that seems to bask in the...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

The sun rose in Equestria bringing with it the sounds of morning birds and a warmth that cut the brisk autumn air. It was apple bucking season once again and a young pony named Applejack was getting ready to start the harvest.

She emerged from the barn, pulling behind her a large wagon for the apples and immediately she felt the chill. 'Autumn,' she thought, 'I love this brisk feeling.' She gazed at the ground softly, feeling the dirt under her hoofs, hard from the drying frost and cool like the water's edge of the beach. It was a very pretty morning. A great morning to be alive and tasting the air with her natural orange coat; every cell rejoiced in a shiver of excitement. It didn't take long, however, for Applejack to see something that really twisted her saddle bags.

Pinkie Pie, Applejack's aptly named pink pony friend, was eating the apples right off the trees. Every bounce of the light-hearted pony equaled another bite into the ripened apples and without even finishing a single apple first, Pinkie Pie was systematically taking one bite out of every single apple.

"Pinkie Pie," shouted Applejack, the temperature rising around her body, "What in sam'hell do you think you're doing?"

"Oh," Pinkie Pie chortled as she bounced, "Hi Applejack. I'm just looking for the best apple. I haven't found it yet, but don't worry, I'm sure it's around here some where."

Pinkie Pie continued her onslaught upon every apple in Sweet Apple Acres while Applejack grew more angry.

"Pinkie Pie, stop right now!" she charged at Pinkie Pie and knocked her out of the air in mid-jump. Pinkie Pie laughed as she lay pinned by Applejack. "Are we playing tag, Applejack?" she asked innocently.

"I'm not playing, Pinkie," said Applejack, "You've got some nerve, eating my apples. What are you thinking?"

Pinkie thought for a second. "I think it is time to play keep away," she said and she rolled out from under Applejack, grabbed the hat off Applejack's head and ran down the dirt path towards Ponyville.

Applejack clenched her teeth. "I'm going to get you Pinkie!" she shouted and ran after her leaving behind her harvesting duties and a white stranger perched on her barn roof.

Back in Ponyville, Pinkie Pie was enjoying her morning too. The scent of fresh, out-of-the-oven cupcakes wafted to her nostrils making it nearly irresistible for her to not gobble up the new batch like she had the last one. Mrs. Cake was trying to stock her tables with sweets and Pinkie Pie was trying to help, but it seemed to Mrs. Cake that Pinkie was more of a problem than a solution.

"Now Pinkie Pie," she said while pulling out the next batch of cupcakes, "You can't eat any of these. These are for paying customers at 25 cents a piece."

Mrs. Cake could see Pinkie Pie's eyes drooling as she began to frost the new batch.

"If you can do that for me, I'll bake you my special cake."

Pinkie Pie gasped. "You don't mean that cake, do you?" she said hopefully. Mrs. Cake shook her head yes. Pinkie Pie's pupils grew three sizes.

After they frosted the cupcakes, Mrs. Cake asked Pinkie Pie to place them on the table in the store front window. As Pinkie backed out of the kitchen, the swinging door tapping against her rump and the tray of fresh cupcake in her mouth, Pinkie Pie resisted all temptation of throwing the tray up in the air and gobbling them one by one, wrapper and all, into a sugary puddle in her stomach. It was extremely hard, but Mrs. Cake's special cake was worth it.

Once she set the tray down, she noticed one of her friends had come to visit Sugarcube: Applejack. Applejack was eying all the sweets and candies, particularly a large carrot cake that sat with the other cakes. She looked extraordinarily hungry, which seemed slightly weird, because Pinkie had never seen her friend look like that before. Her eyes seemed almost as mesmerized by the sweets as Pinkie had often felt hers would look while she stared at cupcakes. But this was Applejack, her friend who could show amazing willpower and discipline. It was just slightly unnerving..

"Hey there, Applejack," Pinkie Pie giggled, trying to lose her apprehension, "Are you as hungry as I am? I feel like I could eat that whole carrot cake myself."

Applejack looked up from the cake to Pinkie Pie; she looked so strange.

"Hel-lo," said Pinkie Pie, "Applejack, are you ok?"

Applejack's eyes wandered to the cupcakes that Pinkie Pie had just bought to the table. Pinkie Pie followed her friend's eyes. "Oh Applejack, you can have one; they're awesome! Just baked and frosted. They're 25 cents each."

Applejack shoved Pinkie Pie out of the way and with a flick of her hoof, the tray flipped into the air and all the cupcakes descended down Applejack's throat, never to be heard from again.

"Hey!" shouted Pinkie Pie, "No fair! I wanted to do that!" Pinkie Pie's face turned into a pout.

"Too bad, sugarcube," said Applejack as she snickered out the door, "Put that on my tab." She slammed the door on her way out.

"Hey wait a minute," said Pinkie Pie, "You don't have a tab! You get back here and pay for those cupcakes!"

She ran out the door trying to catch up to Applejack, but she was gone. Furious, Pinkie Pie walked back into Sugarcube Corner under the gaze of a strange, white creature on the roof.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Fluttershy lay restless under her covers. She had had a bad dream where an earthquake had swallowed up her cottage and all her animal friends. It was so scary. Try as she might, she couldn't get back to sleep and though it was time to get up for the morning, she desperately wanted the two hours of sleep she missed.

Calming herself as best she could, she repeated mentally, 'It was just a dream, it was just a dream…' But as she repeated this over and over in her head, something terrifying happened: something busted through her cottage wall, just above her head and broke through the other side. Fluttershy fell out of bed and fled underneath it, her covers cocooning her inside. She was wide awake now. She didn't know what happened but she had to summon her courage and go outside to see. Maybe a poor animal crashed through her house on accident and needed her help. She grabbed her first aid kit just in case.

Once outside however, all she saw was Rainbow Dash dusting herself off and getting ready to fly back up in the air.

"Um," said Fluttershy, "Excuse me, Rainbow Dash, if you don't mind, could you tell me why you broke though my cottage? I'm sure it was an accident, but maybe if you told me what happened, we could sort it out."

"No time, Fluttershy," said Rainbow Dash, "I'm practicing for the Wonderbolts. I have this new trick and I'm nearly finished perfecting it."

"Yes," said Fluttershy looking down, "I suppose it can wait a little."

Rainbow Dash flew back up into the air and in no time proceeded to crash and smash another hole into Fluttershy's home.

Fluttershy cringed. "Um, Rainbow Dash, if it's not too much trouble, could you please go somewhere else to practice your trick? I don't mind waiting for you to help fix up my cottage, but I…"

"What!" said Rainbow Dash, "It's not my fault your house is right here. Why don't you move it!"

"Um, well," said Fluttershy, "That's kind of impossible."

"Um, well," said Rainbow Dash, mocking Fluttershy's passive tone, "It's impossible for me to fly anywhere but here! So it looks like your house is going down!" She zoomed back up into the sky.

Fluttershy was on the verge of tears. With a restless night, she didn't have much patience left and she screamed. And in a blink, she was on the tail of Rainbow Dash to stop her from inevitably leveling her home and hurting her animal friends.

From his spot on top of Fluttershy's cottage lay a lazy, white, fox, creature who snickered at the poor pegasus's predicament. "Well," he thought, "I must make it to Rainbow Dash's before Miss Fluttershy." He stood up and closed his eyes. The purple diamond just above his eyes but below his gazelle-like horns began to glow and with that, his feet became enveloped in swirling clouds, which lifted him off the cottage roof. He lifted his five, black-tipped tails up to make sure all four black paws were enveloped before running forth to Rainbow Dash's cloudy castle.

Rainbow Dash, too, enjoyed her fluffy cloud bed and blanket a little too long this morning but only for the reason that soul reason that she didn't wish to get up yet. Though she did have to get the clouds ready to give the sky that elegant dusting of white in the midst of a serene blue, she was fairly confident she could do it in 10 seconds flat, so there really was no rush for her to leave the coziest bed in all of Ponyville.

Not really sleeping, Rainbow was imagining her life-long dream of flying with the Wonderbolts and signing autographs when she heard a gentle knock at her door. Rainbow figured it be best to pretend she wasn't home and just shoved her face into the pillow.

The knock got louder and Rainbow grabbed her pillow and pressed it against her ears, hoping that whoever it was would disappear into the soft, downy-like clouds like the sound seemed to do. It seemed to work. The knocking stopped and Rainbow was able to decrease the pressure of her cloud pillow on her ears. She continued to imagine until she felt her room getting and colder and… wetter?

Rainbow Dash looked around her room. It was growing darker and wetting as if her home was turning into a massive storm cloud.

"Oh snap!" said Rainbow as she tried to stamp out the rain. She may get in trouble for causing a downpour off schedule, but eventually her home would become a full fledged rain cloud and there would be nothing that anyone could do to stop it.

No matter what she did, the rain wouldn't subside. "What is going on?" she shouted. She burst through her home to see if a huge storm had come to Ponyville off of schedule. But once she got outside, she was astounded at what she saw. It was Fluttershy but she looked deranged. Much like the time they had gone to the ball in Canterlot. It sent a shiver down her spine. Some how Fluttershy flew a long hose up to her house and was filling the clouds with water.

"Fluttershy," said Rainbow Dash, "What are you doing?"

"This is for ruining my house," said Fluttershy as she laughed maniacally. This wasn't Fluttershy; it couldn't be. And she hadn't ruined Fluttershy's house.

"What are you talking about, psycho?" said Rainbow Dash, "If I had ruined your house, I'd be helping you fix it."

"Oh no," said Fluttershy, her coat standing on end, "You're much too busy to do anything like that. You're too busy being selfish and creating tricks that are too dangerous to perform in a city of children and animals."

"Come again?" said Rainbow Dash.

"You're reckless Rainbow," said Fluttershy, "But this should keep you busy. Keeping your home from enveloping the landscape in a storm that rivals the great flood should keep you busy for a while."

"Oh I think it will take about ten seconds," said Rainbow Dash smirking. She charged at Fluttershy knocked the hose out of her hooves.

"Ha!" shouted Rainbow.

"I'll just go back down and get it," said Fluttershy smiling. She flew after it.

"Oh no you don't," said Rainbow Dash and she chased after her.

"Hmmm…" thought the fox as it walked out from behind Rainbow's cloudy home. "I'm getting sloppy. Manipulating six ponies is a lot more cumbersome than fun. I might have to change the rules a bit."

He walked back down to earth on his way to a pretty boutique.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Rarity worked throughout the night to finish her latest design. It was one of her most elaborate creations yet and took several weeks to put down on paper. It was flawless, from the thread to the fabric to the jewels, everything was perfect. And it was finally finished.

Rarity took a minute to gaze upon her work. The dress was made of silk, dyed red with scarlet undertones and along the edges were gold stitching that flowed into elaborate designs and shapes. Her favorite part was the neckline where she had placed three, finely cut diamonds. It wasn't too gaudy, but it was brilliant and flashy enough to get a pony noticed.

Rarity turned from her dress to look at the clock. It was already 8:00 in the morning.

"I haven't slept a wink," said Rarity, "I simply must at least take a nap before I do anything else."

_Knock, knock_

There was a knock at Rarity's door, but who would be visiting her at this hour? 'I'm really tired,' she thought as she walked over to the door, 'And my hair is a mess. I can't let anyone see me like this. Maybe if I just crack the door open and tell them to come back later.'

Using her magic, Rarity was able to open the door just a crack so she could peer out without anyone seeing her, however as she neared the crack of the door, it swung wide open with a thud-the thud being a square hit of the door against Rarity's face.

With that, Rarity flew into her design wall, knocking over several drawing and designs for future dresses. It was officially on now! Who would dare to bust through her door, uninvited, without saying a word, only to use such force to fling her into her neatly hung display, scattering them all over the floor… 'Oh my,' she thought, "My designs!"

Rarity carefully picked every piece of paper by a small part of the corner and neatly placed them in a pile on a nearby table. It took only a moment and once she had organized the mess, she was ready to attack the ruffian who had barged in on her this early morning.

"Excuse me," she said, "Would you be kind enough to explain yourself?"

As she got closer, she saw it was Twilight who had burst through her door and was now eying her finished work. Her eyes were staring hungrily at it… It was unexplainable to Rarity, but this didn't seem like the Twilight she knew. And her behavior was also inexcusable.

"Twilight!" shouted Rarity, getting her attention, "Why have you burst through my door only to throw me against my work without the decency of an apology or a hello? Are you listening to me?"

Twilight's face finally turned towards Rarity's and it seemed to have morphed into a deranged, maniacal stare. Rarity gasped. This wasn't Twilight. It couldn't be. Could it?

"This dress, Rarity," said the Twilight, "Did you just finish it? It looks beautiful!"

Rarity was flattered by the statement, but the mouth that uttered it was far from being friendly, "Yes, er, Twilight. I just finished it. It took me all night but it was worth it to see it in the first light of the morning and also to have you praise it. It just shows that you have good taste…"

At that moment the creature called Twilight began to tear the dress. "Oops," it said smiling, "Let me fix it…"

"No!" said Rarity losing her composure, "You have to leave right now. I don't know who you are, but you are not my friend and I must ask you to get out and never come back!"

"But Rarity," it said, "It is me, Twilight Sparkle."

The Twilight's eyes and horn began to glow and the dress flew high into the air and right through the ceiling, bringing down pieces of roof on Rarity's head.

"No!" said Rarity, "Leave my dress alone!"

She charged at the thing and with one flick of the hoof, the creature sent Rarity flying once again. The dress came back down on to Rarity's face, no further harm had come of it until…

"Oops," said the Twilight, and the dress lit ablaze and went to ashes all over Rarity's face.

Rarity began to cry as the beast trotted out and disappeared in the direction of Twilight Sparkle's house. Rarity saw and after wiping the tears from her face she galloped off to destroy whatever that was.

The fox once again perched on the rooftop, enjoying the show from his front row seat. He chuckled. "Went a little overboard with that one. Wasn't nearly as convincing…" he said as he laid down. Then he stretched and let out a yawn. "Busy, busy, busy… So much to do…"

He stood up and jumped off the roof and floated down. "Well… I guess I really must come up with an ending to this game. I wonder if the magical Twilight Sparkle will liven thing up a bit. She is my favorite."

The fox walked down the road towards the library, thinking of the next play to make.

Twilight Sparkle enjoyed early morning. She loved the birds singing through her window, the smell that her herbal tea and even the snores of the baby dragon that slept in the little bed nearby. As she stood at the table sipping her tea and skimming through a book she had already read, she couldn't help but notice that this morning was slightly off. The birds were very few and the songs seemed rather distant today. And she couldn't help but feel like another presence was nearby, one that shared her magical energy. It felt familiar but twisted, much like her meetings with Nightmare Moon and Discord… although it didn't seem particularly malignant or destructive…

_Creak_…

Twilight looked up from her book to see Rarity sneaking into the library. But she knew right away that it wasn't Rarity. It was a white unicorn-shaped beast, but it wasn't right. It didn't feel like Rarity at all. Rarity had a very distinct aura because of her unicorn magic, and this aura wasn't unicorn, it felt other worldly, much like what she was feeling before…

"Hi Rarity," said Twilight rolling her eyes, "Aren't you going to say hello?"

"Why Twilight," said the Rarity, "Why are you up so early? Shouldn't you be getting your beauty sleep?"

Twilight was sure that was meant as an insult, but because she wasn't sure what this thing was, she wasn't going to react in any way that it wanted her to.

"Oh geez," she said, "You're right. But what about you? Your hair doesn't seem as nice as it usually is."

"Ah," said the Rarity, "But it is much nicer than your mane. Did you even look in a mirror this morning?"

This was getting just tad bit obnoxious now. It was time to cut to chase and find out what this thing was.

"Look," said Twilight her eyes narrowed, "I know for a fact that you are not Rarity. So tell me what you are."

"I'm Rarity," it said, "The most beautiful and talented unicorn in all of Equestria. I'm just so amazing that it can be hard for _some to see." It laughed. Twilight hated to admit it but the thing was becoming extremely irritating. _

"_Let me lay it out for you," said Twilight, trying to keep her face as serious as possible, "I can see that you are a very talented magician, but if there is one thing another magician can see, it is the type of magic being used. Yours is not unicorn, however what it is I can't say. You're not fooling me, so show yourself and tell me what you want."_

_At that moment Rarity opened the door with such anger that Twilight cringed. The thing about emotions is that they also brush a pony's aura with intense energy and Twilight had always been quite perceptive to any pony's immediate state. As for Rarity, the real one, she seemed to be seething with as much hatred, if not more, than that of Nightmare Moon the moment she appeared at the Summer Sun Celebration._

"_Twilight!" she shouted, "We need to…" She faltered upon seeing herself already in the room. From there, her aura shifted from anger to confusion and luckily it stayed there as she watched the other Rarity dissolve into nothing._

"_Twilight?" she said, "What was that?"_

"_I have no idea," said Twilight, "I take it you had a similar experience?"_

_Rarity remembered her anger and spouted, "Twilight Sparkle, you ruined my new dress!"_

_Twilight cringed. She wondered why she couldn't get used to negative emotions being mixed in auras. It probably had more to do with where the emotions were coming from and not so much the emotions themselves. Rarity was one of the first ponies Twilight had met coming to Ponyville and it hurt to have this kind of animosity directed towards her._

"_It wasn't me, Rarity," said Twilight pleadingly, "I've been here enjoying my morning. Don't tell me you didn't see that fake you standing over here beside me?"_

"_You could have conjured that," said Rarity, "You're good at magic."_

"_You're good at magic too Rarity," said Twilight sighing. _

"_Don't try to butter me up," said Rarity, "Months of hard work, ruined, up in smoke, because you wanted that dress all for yourself."_

_Twilight sighed again. Then she and Rarity heard another fight outside her doors. Twilight pushed past Rarity to see what it was only to see Pinkie Pie and Applejack tussling on the ground._

"_Girls, girls," she said, "What are you doing?"_

"_This silly filly ruined my apple season!" said Applejack._

"_I did not," said Pinkie Pie, "This meanie ate all our freshly baked cupcakes, without paying for them and in a way that I desperately wanted to do."_

"_Yeah," said Applejack, "Well, she took my hat and has yet to give it back."_

"_Your hat is on your head!" shouted Pinkie Pie for the umpteenth time._

"_It is not," said Applejack, "You took it and hid it somewhere!"_

_The two continued to roll around in the dirt. As Rarity cringed at the sight, Twilight noticed something._

_She turned her magic on full power, separated to two ponies and levitated them away from each other. _

"_Twilight," said Applejack, "What in tar nation are you doing?"_

"_Yeah," said Pinkie Pie, "I'm about to kick her…"_

"_Now girls, calm down," said Twilight, "Applejack, your hat is on your head."_

"_Oh sure take her side," said Applejack._

"_No, really darling," said Rarity calming down herself, "your hat really is on your head."_

_For the first time, Applejack raised her fore hooves to her head and felt the dusty, leathery fabric that was her trademark hat. She blushed._

"_Oh my," she said, "Pinkie Pie I'm sorry I accused your for taking my hat, but you still ruined my orchard."_

_Her temper flared up like a fire being prodded by a poker. "I did not ruin your orchard; I've been baking with Mrs. Cake all morning. You can ask her. You're the one who ate all our fresh cupcakes without paying for them."_

"_I haven't been there all morning, honest," said Applejack. Then her stomach started to growl. "All that chasing after you sure made me hungry though."_

"_A likely story!" said Pinkie Pie._

_But before Twilight could interject, two pegasi were clashing above the library. It was Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. 'What the hay are they fighting about?' she thought. Before the two could do any real damage (especially to the library itself), Twilight released Applejack and Pinkie Pie and apprehended Fluttershy and Rainbow. _

"_Hey," said Rainbow Dash, "Let me go; we have a score to settle."_

"_Yes," said Fluttershy, "This hoodlum thinks she can fly all over Equestria and ruin any home she wants just because she strong and fast. Well that's not how the world works missy! You will say you're sorry to me and the little animals you terrorized near my cottage."_

_Twilight thought for a moment. "Wait a minute," she thought out loud, "Rarity, you were visited by someone that looked like me, correct?"_

"_Yes," she said I was, "Though now that I think about it there was something peculiar about her that I couldn't put a finger on…"_

"_Applejack, Pinkie Pie, you were both visited by something that looked like each other?"_

_The two looked at each other. "Yup," said Pinkie Pie, "It was her alright."_

_Applejack gritted her teeth, "She's saying there's something out there that is going around looking like us and making us look bad."_

"_Are you saying," said Fluttershy, "That I became upset with Rainbow Dash over nothing? I'm so sorry Rainbow Dash."_

"_I'm sorry I didn't wipe the floor with you for flooding my home!"_

"_Rainbow," said Twilight exasperated, "She didn't do it."_

"_Oh," said Rainbow finally relaxing in the bubble Twilight put her in, "In that case I'm sorry too Fluttershy."_

"_So my dress isn't ruined?"_

"_Nor my apples?"_

"_My cupcakes haven't been eaten?"_

"_My home isn't demolished?"_

"_And my home isn't a thunderstorm waiting to happen?"_

"_Well…" said Twilight as she began to think this over some more._

"_No," said a voice._

_The ponies looked up to the roof of the library and saw a large, white fox sitting and looking down on them, smirking._

_Twilight released Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash and as she did, Rainbow zoomed to the roof ledged where the fox was sitting only to pass right through him. _

"_An illusion?" said Twilight._

"_Correct," said the fox as he now sat behind them._

_Fluttershy and Rainbow (reluctantly) descended to the ground with the others._

"_What are you trying to do foxy?" said Rainbow Dash putting on her most fierce face._

"_Please," said the fox, "Call me Swift. I mean no harm… well…" he snickered, "not entirely."_

"_He's so handsome," said Rarity._

"_Thank you," he said._

"_Cut to the chase, Mr. Swift," said Applejack, "What in sam-hell do you think you're doing?"_

"_Playing a game," said Swift, "I've been monitoring you ponies for a year or so and I have to say you're all quite impressive."_

_Swift stood and began to walk among them. "I've been reading your mail, following you around, watching you sleep… Can I make this any more creepy?" He smiled._

_No one laughed. "Oh little ponies," he said, "It's a joke. I mean, why so serious? Nothing, oh well."_

"_She asked you a question," said Twilight, "What are you doing?"_

"_I have been forthwith," he said, "I'm playing a game. Funny thing about your letters, there is a common theme for every one of them. Can anyone guess what it is?"_

_Everyone was silent._

"_Friendship, ladies," said Swift, "Friendship. Life lesson about friends and harmony and love and blah blah blah."_

"_It's not blah blah," said Pinkie Pie._

"_It is blah blah," said Swift._

"_Prove it," said Twilight._

_Swift smiled. "I will. The game is not over, but I desperately wanted to meet you. I think it adds more intimacy to our relationship of predator and prey. It is a rather intimate relationship, wouldn't you agree Twilight? Watching your prey and exploiting their weaknesses? You might say I know you better than your friends. I see you in the dark, when no one else sees you."_

"_I have nothing to hide," said Twilight firmly_

"_Even you have cracks, Twilight Sparkle," said Swift, "You may be the most practical and brilliant, but you have your cracks. And I know where each one lies._

"_The same goes for all of you."_

"_Grab him," said Rainbow, but as she and Applejack dove to pin Swift down, they only ended up pinning each other._

"_Ahem," said Swift from a tree above, "For now, I bid you farewell. We will meet again soon. I especially can't wait to see what you got Twilight."_

"_Don't you already know," she said glaring at him._

_He laughed. "We'll see. Farewell." And the fox in the tree disappeared like the other illusions he created in Ponyville._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

The six ponies went to bed that night tired but restless. Fighting each other left them feeling distraught; it was much like their battle with Discord. They had all done things they were not proud of and those things crept upon them like a spider and bit into their psyches harder than any time after the fact.

Applejack, for one, was ashamed of the way she acted. Bottling up her fear and lying to her friends made her feel sick at first, but the more she did it, the easier it became until it was almost second nature. If Twilight hadn't snapped her out of it, who knows what would have happened down the road.

She sure was lucky to have friends like them, whom she could count on in times like those. With her friends on her mind, she slowly drifted to sleep.

Applejack woke up the next morning at her usual time and was ready to harvest her uneaten apples when she was struck with a whole new, horrific realization: her orchard was burnt to the ground. Big Macintosh was busy trying to stamp out the remaining embers while Granny Smith was trying to fill a bucket of water. The fire department was there, and they were about to leave now that the flames were out, but before they could leave, Applejack ran up to them to find out what had happened.

"It seems," said the chief, "That some of these little fillies were playing with matches."

The chief was gesturing to Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. They looked extremely upset and were balling.

"Applebloom," said Applejack trying to remain calm, "What did you do?"

Applebloom tried to stop crying to answer but she was so upset, she could only stutter "I."

Applejack could not bottle up her anger much longer, so she ran away from the scene, tears streaming down her face. Her emotions were all over the place. She couldn't decide between anger or sadness and she needed to run. She just needed to run. And she did that and did not look back.

Pinkie Pie also lay in bed that night thinking about their run in with Discord. It hurt to think that her friends only kept her around to laugh at. It made her feel so un-Pinkie that she couldn't stand it. All she remembered was anger… She also remembered the time when her friends threw her that birthday party and she thought they were avoiding her. That was one of the scariest moments in her life. She never told anypony, but if they, her five best friends, were to leave her, she would be the saddest pony in all of Equestria. Though she knew every pony in Equestria, she couldn't see herself without them in her life. Pinkie thought about her friends and smiled as she drifted off to sleep.

Pinkie woke up to her favorite smell in the world: cupcakes! It smelled like chocolate cupcakes, with vanilla frosting, rainbow sprinkles and a gumdrop on top… her favorite. She was so excited, she jumped out of bed and ran down the steps of Sugarcube Corner as fast as she could, but she slowed down as she made it to the kitchen, so she didn't run into anyone possibly coming out, and that was when she heard the Cakes talking.

"I'm not sure how much longer I can do this, honey," said Mr. Cake.

"I know dear," said Mrs. Cake, "She is a handful and a major pain. We can't afford to have her around much longer."

"Party this and party that," Mr. Cake went on, "I'm sick of it. She needs to settle down and get out of here. Find some pony to marry and get out of our manes."

"Who do you suppose would even want to marry her?" said Mrs. Cake, "She'd drive anypony crazy in an instant. I'm surprised I haven't snapped yet."

"You're so patient, dear," said Mr. Cake, "I could learn something from you."

"You do fine, honey," said Mrs. Cake, "I can't count the times you've helped me hold my tongue. Let's just hope she eventually gets bored and leaves."

Pinkie Pie wasn't sure what to say. 'Are they talking about me?' she thought with a heavy heart, 'They have to be; who else would they be talking about.' She silently turned around and walked out of Sugarcube Corner.

Her hoofs looked drab today. She walked down the street, passing by all the ponies, hoping to hear a friendly voice. Instead all she heard was whispering. She looked up to see the ponies in the street, hoofs over their mouths as they whispered to one another. All of them were staring at her, and as she looked up to them one by one, one by one they turned away as if they hadn't noticed her.

'What is going on?' Pinkie Pie thought. At this point, Pinkie began to run. She ran as hard as she could. If there was one pony Pinkie could talk to it was Twilight, so she ran all the way to the library.


	5. Chapter 5

I want to give a shout out to GreenVirus, SirenSirenSiren and Snake Screamer for their comments; they keep me writing. I also want to give a shout out to all of you who have subscribed and favorited Tricks and Clones, that means a lot and also keeps me writing.

I can't help but feel like I'll get some flack for this next chapter, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. There is a lot that we don't know about our favorite ponies and what they were like before we met them and so I took some liberties. I feel like this could be a possible reality so I'm going to go for it. I hope you enjoy it, and please review and tell me what you think. After it is posted, it won't be change, but things may go a different route as the story progresses.

Thanks again and please keep reading!

(Also I don't own any rights to the ponies in question; I believe that goes without saying but… disclaimers are always fun, right?)

Sincerely,

Bernie Black

Chapter 5:

Fluttershy snuggled up into her covers and tried her best to calm her mind. Swift didn't seem like such a nice creature at all. A predator and prey relationship? Did that mean he planned to eat them? He was bigger than she was by a couple of inches. And when he smiled, she could see all of his sharp teeth. He seemed as fierce as a dragon but as intellectual as a pony. Not to mention he had gazelle horns and five tails… a very peculiar creature indeed, one that she had never seen before.

'What if he's watching me right now!' she thought. Her eyes were wide open as she scanned her bedroom. Nothing… just the way she had left it, nothing out of place, everything was fine.

She wasn't sure what kind of game this was but she was pretty sure she didn't want to play it. She tried to think of happy things, like the time she saw Rainbow Dash make a sonic rainboom. Or the time when Twilight first came to town. Or the time when she received her cutie mark. She began to think of her friends and all the things that they had done together and the closeness that they had. Nothing could separate them, not even a crafty fox like Swift.

Fluttershy woke up the next day in the last place she wanted to be: the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy rose with a start. Panic overtook her. "Calm down," she said, "Calm down Fluttershy, no need to panic. You're in the Everfree Forest, but…" She looked around, "Ok, I'm deep in the Everfree Forest, but there aren't any…" She looked around her and she saw shadows darting about, ducking behind trees and bushes, these shadows moved very fast and their eyes glowed gold…

'Shadows don't have eyes,' she thought, 'What are these things?' Fluttershy's legs were quaking and she lowered her head and hid behind her mane. 'You have to move Fluttershy, or you'll be eaten,' said a voice.

"Eep!" she squealed. When she looked up to see where the voice had come from, all she saw were the faces of a pack of hyena looking creatures the size of two ponies. They looked ravenous, circling her. She noticed that they had long cat-like claws, a long cheetah-like tail and were green with brown stripes, perfect camouflage for forest hunting. Quickly, they surrounded her and took position to pounce on her.

"Fly!" said the voice. And Fluttershy, remembering she had wings, listened and flew as high into the sky and away from the Everfree Forest as she could but after a while, she realized that she was lost. She had no idea where she was. The forest stretched for miles and miles in every direction. She knew she wouldn't be able to fly indefinitely.

"What am I going to do? What am I going to do?" Fluttershy cried. It was no use, she was panicking now. She would soon grow tired and fall into the forest full of wild animals that wanted to eat her. Slowly she felt her wings give and she sank into the forest.

Rainbow Dash tossed and turned in her bed. She couldn't figure out how Swift could be so fast. Faster than her? How? She was the best flyer in Ponyville. And what was that nonsense about cracks? Rainbow Dash was solid, not full of cracks… Did he know what happened at flight school? He couldn't! She never told anyone about that and she wasn't going to. Besides it was such a long time ago, and probably everyone had forgotten it, right?

This was crazy; how could one creature get the best of her anyways? Then she remembered Discord and Nightmare Moon… 'Ok, fine,' she thought, huffing into her pillow of clouds, 'But this guy isn't nearly as scary as either of them. Simply put, he's a practical joker with too much free time!'

Her final thought brought her some comfort. 'All he's doing is getting into our heads and trying to mess with us. Well I'm not going to let him! Try as he might, he's not going to best me again!' With her confidence renewed, Rainbow Dash found it easier to drift off to sleep and dream about her acceptance onto the Wonderbolts Team.

She slept till noon and woke up with a yawn. "That was a good night's sleep," she said, "I hope that Swift guy does show up, because I'm ready for him today. He's going down!" She smiled and jumped out of bed and walked to the front passage way. She took a deep breath and gazed at the afternoon sun. It was bright and warm; she closed her eyes and felt the heat and she flapped her wings to stretch them out.

She gazed down from her home in the sky and saw the green ground, tranquil but everypony was busy going about their errands and afternoon routines.

"Well," said Rainbow Dash, "I've got to get ready and prepare a downpour, but I've got time to grab lunch first."

She jumped from her home and zipped and zigged and zagged through Ponyville to her favorite spot.

"Rainbow Dash!" said the restaurant owner, "Your usual?"

"Hecks yeah!" said Rainbow as she approached the counter, "And for today, I'd like the biggest water bottle you got. Gotta keep training if I'm going to be a Wonderbolt some day."

"Of course," he said with a smile, "One gallon jug of water and a number 5 special coming up. Just have a seat and I'll bring it out to you."

"Thanks Max," said Rainbow and she walked outside and picked a table. It was such a beautiful day today; it was a shame that it had to rain.

"Well, it doesn't have to start until tonight," she mused, "So I'll enjoy today, get some training in, take a nap and prepare the skies for a night time drizzle. Perfect plan for a perfect day."

Max came by with her lunch and Rainbow was about to take a sip from you gallon jug when she saw her.

A white pegasus pony with a poofy blue mane and glasses was eating at the table right in front of her; it was Downy Puff, a pony she would love to forget.

'Oh my gosh, oh my gosh,' thought Rainbow, 'What is she doing here? This isn't good. What if… What am I saying; that was, like, five years ago. She probably doesn't even remember me.'

Rainbow continued to eat and stare at her old acquaintance when finally Downy Puff noticed her and looked over.

'Oh my gosh, oh my gosh,' she thought, 'She's looking right at me! Does she know who I am? Does she remember…'

Downy Puff got up from her table and walked over to Rainbow Dash. Her face passive, eyes narrowed but not glaring, they showed empty or deep. They did not betray their master, as she stared with the most apathetic of eyes.

"Rainbow Dash…" she said finally, "I thought I heard your name when I came here. Honestly I hoped I wouldn't see you again."

"Look, Down Puff," said Rainbow Dash, "I really wanted to apologize for the way I acted back in school. If there is anyway I can make it up to you, please tell me."

"Make it up to me?" she said. Her apathy unraveled and her face contorted into a devious smile and crooked, evil laugh echoed from her mouth. It was startling to hear, because as Rainbow remembered Downy had a very nerdy, snorty laugh.

Her laugh stopped and Rainbow tried her best not to cry and stay strong. "Do you remember all the days you tortured me Rainbow Dash?" she said. "The swirlies, the spit wads, the constant practical jokes that you played on me? I remember. I remember all the nights I cried, praying for a better tomorrow only to get the same crap shoveled on me day after day. I suppose you think you're really cool, don't you?"

"I'm truly, deeply sorry, Downy," said Rainbow, her eyes tearing up, "I was young and stupid. I wasn't thinking about you at all."

"Of course you weren't!" shouted Downy Puff, "All you wanted was some laughs and attention from everyone else. As if all the friends you had weren't enough. All your fans and groupies, who worshipped you and did everything you said. You are a cruel and evil pony!"

"I'm not that pegasus anymore, Downy, I swear!"

"You know what Rainbow," said Downy Puff, "I'm gong to take you up on that offer. You are going to be my personal slave for as long as I desire."

"What?" shouted Rainbow Dash, defiance flared up inside her, "You can't do that!"

"You're right," said Downy smiling, "But I can talk about the brilliant Rainbow Dash and her past life as a bully. I know all of your dirty secrets Rainbow Dash because all of them were done to me!"

"I tried to find you," said Rainbow cowering, "When you ran away from school, I dropped out to find you. I even visited your home in Cloudsdale and your parents were worried sick."

"Did you tell them that you were the reason I ran away? Did you tell them about how you tortured me to the breaking point of where I was about to kill myself!"

"No," said Rainbow now screaming, "I never meant for any of that to happen!"

"Oh, poor baby!" said Downy Puff, "How about you come with me and we'll get you a new diaper…"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

After she saw that her dress was ok, Rarity spend most of her day thinking about the fox. He didn't leave her mind the entire day, and still occupied her mind as she lay in bed. 'How could something so beautiful be so cruel?' she thought.

He had taken her by surprise: his coat white and shiny, his horns dark and perfect, five luscious tails and eyes as green as the Everfree Forest… If she didn't know any better, she may have thought she was smitten with him, but he was a rather dangerous ruffian afterall, so she wouldn't allow herself to think any further on the subject. She kept herself occupied on his sadistic game: pinning her and her friends against each other, ready to fight to the death… well that may be a bit dramatic, nobody got hurt and it was just as well. She had to remember to be thankful for such a kindness from such an evil beast.

But maybe he wasn't all bad. He seemed to take good care of himself, well-groomed and what not… And again she had to keep her mind from wandering. 'I simply must get some sleep,' she thought, 'with the little sleep I got last evening, I'll look simply dreadful tomorrow.

Rarity cleared her mind as best she could and tried to think of good things, like her friends and her goals. She knew everything would be alright and if that Swift character showed up again, they would surely be able to outsmart him.

Rarity woke up the next morning feeling awful. She gave herself a couple of extra hours because of her all-nighter the night before, but it didn't seem to help at all. 'A bath will do the trick,' she thought and she jumped out of bed landing on her six legs.

It didn't occur to her until she skittered into the bathroom and reached up to the mirror to check her mane… she had no mane; she had no horn; in their place were two antennae and her face was no longer hers but the face of a cockroach.

Rarity screamed. At first she believed there was a giant bug in her bathroom, but upon seeing her stick-like legs and her abdomen, she realized the truth. She cried in the bathroom for hours until she heard a knock at the door.

'Oh no!' she thought, 'Why was someone at her door? Didn't they realize this wasn't a good time!' Rarity stopped crying and crawled up the wall and onto the ceiling, out her bathroom door, her bedroom door and into her foyer. She crawled on top of her door and looked through the peep hole. It was Fluttershy! 'She would help me,' thought Rarity, 'I may be a disgusting bug, but Fluttershy would as least be kind to me, right? Since I'm an animal, right?'

She couldn't decide if she should open the door or not. Fluttershy may be kind to all animals but was she kind enough to giant cockroaches? Rarity, herself, couldn't fathom what she would do if she saw something like herself now… Oh yes she could. She'd find somepony with big boots!

Against her senses, Rarity opened the door. Remaining on the ceiling, she wanted to lure Fluttershy in, close the door and confront her. Hopefully they would be able to talk and get this whole mess sorted out.

The door creaked open, and Fluttershy tiptoed in. "He-hello?" she called into the house, "Rarity, um, are you here?"

As soon as Fluttershy stepped into the foyer, Rarity closed the door, a little harder than she meant to, which made Fluttershy squeak and run under the nearest table.

Rarity crawled off the ceiling and onto the floor just in time for Fluttershy to peak her head out from behind the table cloth. Horror graced Fluttershy's face; this was going to be harder than Rarity thought.

Rarity spoke to Fluttershy, trying to calm her down. "Fluttershy, it is I, Rarity! We must find Twilight and see how we can reverse this abomination against myself!"

Unfortunately all Fluttershy heard was the chattering of Rarity's mandibles.

"Stay back!" said Fluttershy, "Where's Rarity? What have you done with her?"

Rarity's mouth parts continued to grind, making Fluttershy more and more nervous. She screamed and burst through the front window.

Rarity climbed up to look outside. It seemed that all of Ponyville had seen Fluttershy's exit and came to investigate, but when they saw Rarity's new face poke up from the curtains, they panicked and ran too.

Rarity couldn't believe her eyes. She crawled back into her bed and under the covers and sobbed.

After a rather apprehensive day, Twilight and the others retired early. Twilight, herself, spend hours combing through all the books in the library to figure out what Swift was or who Swift was or anything she could find on five tailed foxes.

It was fruitless however. Twilight's library was filled with books, yes, but any reference material on other sentient creatures other than ponies was scarce-practically non-existent.

"Twilight," said Spike, "What are you looking for?"

"I need to find everything and anything on foxes," said Twilight without looking up, "This isn't helpful…"

"So, this Swift guy is a five-tailed fox with antlers…" spike pondered aloud, "Have you ever heard of such a beast?"

"No Spike," said Twilight, trying to keep her patience, "I told you, he was the strangest and most powerful creature I've ever met."

"More powerful than Discord or Nightmare Moon?"

Twilight pondered this for a moment. Swift was powerful, but he was different from the other two. There was something that wasn't quite all there, as if some important information was missing… which only meant she had to find more information and so far that was out of the question. Her library was exhausted, it seemed.

She decided that she should just go to bed, but for some reason it seemed like a bad idea. Although she was sleepy after a long day of study, she couldn't shake the feeling that she shouldn't go to sleep.

Instead she found herself in meditation. She closed her eyes and began to imagine her home. Everything was in its place, just they way she had left it. But she was feeling the faint aura of something else…

She walked inside her mind around the library. The aura grew stronger as she ascended the staircase and up to her room. On her bed was Swift, giving her the softest bedroom eyes…

Twilight couldn't help but blush, however, she wasn't dumb enough to fall for such a ploy.

"Twilight," said Swift, "I can't believe you fantasize about little old me. I'm quite flattered."

Twilight blushed harder. "Trust me, I don't fantasize about you," she said, "You're the one in my head."

"Which is just a clever way of saying you can't get me off your mind," said Swift jumping off the bed and walking up to her.

Twilight glared at him. "You are so full of yourself," she said, "But I guess all I have to do is open my eyes and I'll be right back downstairs where I began."

Twilight tried to wake up. She kicked herself; she bit herself. "I can't get out of my head!"

"Exactly," said Swift walking over to a book shelf on the other side of her room.

"You're doing this!" she said.

"Of course," he said.

"Stop it now! Release me!" Twilight was beginning to panic. She liked the inside of her head enough, but to be indefinitely trapped there without her friends would be horrible.

"I will," he said, "But you have to promise me something first."

Twilight didn't like this. "What?" she said grinding her teeth.

"You have to leave Ponyville and come with me."

"No," said Twilight, "This is my home."

"Well," said Swift smirking, "I guess you're not leaving."

Twilight thought for a minute. She smiled as she remembered Spike. "My friend Spike will get me out of here. He'll see what's going on and take me to Princess Celestia."

"Will he…" said Swift smiling, "I may have him some where else right now."

"What!" said Twilight. She was extremely angry now. "Well my other friends will come and find me."

"They are all… Well, they have their hooves full at the moment. I don't think that they will have time to save you. Besides, Twilight, they don't really think of you as a friend at all."

"You're lying!" she said.

"How long have you know them? A year or two?" said Swift as he circled around her, "Or maybe you only think you know them? I see all, Twilight, I know them better than you do. Do I need to show you exactly who your friends are?"

"There is nothing you can say that will make me doubt my friends for a second!"

"Oh? Well, we'll see about that then. Shall we?"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Applejack was running. She felt like she had been running for hours, but she just couldn't stop. She had, however, stopped crying.

'What were those fillies doing?' she thought. She couldn't help it now. Her mind was beginning to go to a dark place. Her bitterness and anger was rising up like a swarm of locusts. She tried her best, but she could not seem to grab hold of her emotions.

"She knows she shouldn't be playing with matches!" Applejack shouted. Her eyes finally opened and she saw that she was deep in the Everfree Forest.

"Did I really run this far?" she said aloud. "Golly! I don't think I've ever been this deep in the Everfree Forest. Maybe I can find Zecora. She may be able to calm me down. But where am I?"

Applejack stopped. She looked to the North, the south, the west and the east; there was nothing but green all around her for miles.

"I'm really deep in the Everfree Forest!" Applejack's anger was slowly cooling down to panic. She tried her best to stay calm and look around to see if she could see anything that looked familiar. There was nothing. Nothing but trees and bushes and… a quavering Fluttershy stuck in a tree?

Applejack was elated. "Fluttershy!" she called out. "Am I glad to see you sugarcube."

"Applejack?" said Fluttershy looking up from under her hooves. "Applejack!"

Fluttershy jumped from the tree and landed on Applejack and hugged her in the tightest hug she could.

"Are you alright sugarcube?"

"Oh, it's awful. There are these animals that have been chasing me and trying to eat me. I've only flown away as far as I could. I think they're tracking me."

Fluttershy looked deeply upset. Applejack tried to console her, but the thought of hungry, wild animals made her feel just as uneasy.

"Animals, huh?" said Applejack, "But Fluttershy, you're good with animals. Have you tried to talk to them?"

"They don't want to be talked to. I know what a hungry animal looks like; I've seen it over and over again. They looked at me with those eyes: big, hungry eyes!"

"Now now, darling," said Applejack (gulp), "They don't seem to be here now."

And as if on cue, the hyena-looking creatures strode out of the bushes. Licking their lips, they began to circle the two ponies. Applejack was stunned. She had never seen any creatures like this. In fact the last time she had seen creatures this strange was when they were fighting Discord…

"Wait a minute!" shouted Applejack.

"O-ok," said Fluttershy hiding behind her mane and hooves again.

"Shy, this ain't real," said Applejack, "This is that Swift feller's work! Watch as I buck this thing in the face!"

Applejack gave a startling kick which sent the creature sailing through the air like a tossed stone.

"What the hay?" said Applejack, "I actually felt that…"

The other creatures began to focus in on Applejack, growling and drooling and licking their lips.

Applejack smiled. "Well don't I feel like the prettiest pony at the gala. Y'all want to dance?"

Applejack bucked and bucked as she sent hyena after hyena sailing through the air. Fluttershy who was still hiding, began to see through her hooves and mane. Try as she might, she couldn't shelter her eyes from the onslaught of Applejack… kicking hyenas?

She looked up. Applejack was fighting the hyenas and throwing them across the sky. There was one left and after wiping the sweat from her brow, she sent that one packing too.

"Boy howdy!" she said, "Though I won't be doing and apple bucking this year, that sure did the trick. I'm not even mad anymore."

"How did you do that?" asked Fluttershy, "They were twice your size."

"I don't know shy," said Applejack, "I thought they were illusions, but they turned out to be lightweights instead. Who would have thought?"

"But, but, look at their prints," said Fluttershy, "They're so deep. They would have to be somewhere around 900 lbs to make prints like that."

"Really?" said Applejack feeling kind of proud of herself crossing her hooves, "Well I guess I just don't know my own strength."

"I guess, but…" said Fluttershy.

"Come on, Shy," said Applejack, "This path looks like it goes back to Ponyville."

"But that road wasn't there a minute ago!" said Fluttershy beginning to panic again.

Applejack stopped. Fluttershy was right. A minute ago they were surrounded by trees. Now there was a path with Ponyville visible on the horizon. "What's going on?" said Applejack.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Rarity skittered and crawled as quickly as her new legs allowed. It seemed that all of Ponyville was pursuing her with pitch forks and torches. An entire mob grew from the initial outburst of Fluttershy from her home, and they were all intent on killing the creature that took one of their own.

Little did they know that the creature they were chasing, the six legged, two antennaed, three segmented creature was none other than the pony they sought to avenge… 'Rather poetic,' Rarity thought as she propelled herself along the path under the setting sun to Twilight's library. She only had one hope at this point, and that was that Twilight could reverse this terrible imposition that had been forced upon her.

Pinkie Pie had not had a very good day herself. In fact she seemed to be twitching… It was something new though, her entire spine shivered as if her body's insides grew cold. The day had been extremely odd. Her goal was to get to Twilight's in order to talk and not feel so alone. Though her head hung the entire walk, the trip seemed to take much longer than usual.

It never took long for Pinkie to walk from Sugarcube Corner to Twilight's library, but today it seemed to take dreadfully long, and part of the way she had ran. It may have been all the staring eyes on her retreating back that made the trip seem so long, but she should have been at the library hours ago. The sun was already setting. There was something not right about today… this world wasn't right. She had a twitch, and she had no idea what it was…

She finally saw it. Just over the hill, Pinkie saw the top of the library. The lights were on; someone had to be home. 'Maybe,' Pinkie thought, 'I can stay with Twilight tonight.' And then she saw something else. Coming down the path, she saw what looked like fireflies moving closer. A bunch of them, all coming down the path. But as they came closer, Pinkie realized they were not fireflies at all but torches. And as they came closer she saw the ponies of Ponyville all carrying torches in their mouths and pitchforks. They seemed to be chasing something… "Is that a giant cockroach?" she shouted.

Rarity was crawling faster. The library was in sight; she was so close she could feel Twilight's warm smile as she invited her inside… What if she didn't let her inside? Looking like this, maybe Twilight would react the same way as the rest of Ponyville.

Rarity's heart sank a little. She was seriously thinking of giving up and letting the mob envelop her and putting her out of her misery… But then she saw Pinkie Pie!

Her heart filled with strength, maybe she could convince Pinkie… No! She _must _convince Pinkie. Once she convinced Pinkie, she would be able to convince Twilight. It was her only chance.

Pinkie watched as the cockroach came closer and closer. She couldn't put her hoof on it but something was wrong. Her spine shivered again and the mane on the back of her neck stood straight.

"That's new," she said and then she heard Rarity's voice inside her head.

'Pinkie!' thought Rarity, 'No no… more conviction. I have to express to her somehow that I am Rarity. This is impossible! If Fluttershy couldn't understand me… I have to keep trying!'

'Rarity?' Pinkie thought back, 'Is that you?'

'What!' thought Rarity, 'Pinkie, are you inside my head?'

'No silly,' said Pinkie cheering up a little, 'I'm on the path in front of you. You are the cockroach, right?'

'Please, Pinkie I am a lady! Though I may look like a cockroach, I assure you I am still the same Rarity you know. Please! We must get to the Library and talk to Twilight.'

'Most definitely!' thought Pinkie, 'Something sure is screwy around here.'

'Quick! Open the door before they catch up to me!'

Pinkie ran to Twilight's door and knocked. No answer. She tried to open the door, but it was locked.

'It's no good Rarity,' thought Pinkie, 'The door is locked and Twilight won't answer.'

'Oh! When will this nightmare end?'

Pinkie's spine shivered again. It hit her. This wasn't real. They were asleep. Weren't they?'

'Rarity,' though Pinkie, 'Do you think that we are still asleep?'

'Asleep!' Rarity thought… 'Wait… Maybe we are. That fox… He did this to me. But if it was really a dream, why haven't we awoken? I've been nearly gored five times today!'

'I don't know Rarity,' thought Pinkie, 'But I'm twitching… And you know what that means.'

'Oh don't tell me something is going to fall on me!'

Pinkie stood up to the crowd as Rarity finally reached her. "Hey everypony! Stop this now! This is… my cockroach!"

'What!' thought Rarity.

"Get out of our way!" shouted a stallion.

"Yeah," said a mare, "You're just a nuisance. No pony wants you around; just leave already."

"You're wrong!" shouted Pinkie Pie, "Because you're not real!"

"How's this for real!" shouted another male pony as he threw his pitchfork into the air, aiming it at Pinkie (he has a bullseye on his flank).

Pinkie's spine shivered again. She smiled as she jumped into the air, did a back flip as the pitch fork nearly pierced her, avoiding it effortlessly, she kicked the metal prongs as her she finished the flip. The fork flew over the crowd, just over the thrower's head, and plunged into a nearby tree.

"Very clever…" he said as the other ponies moved in to surround her. "Get ready to fight us all you stupid mule."

"Alright," said Pinkie, "Let's dance."

The first pony moved in punch her in the face. Pinkie, with lightning reflexes, moved inside the hoof, elbowed the inside of the punching hoof's elbow and punched the stallion in the face.

The next tried to grab her from behind, but Pinkie's spine shuttered again, and she donkey kicked him in the face. Then three more tried to jump on top of her. She rolled onto her back as the two jumping her from the front met her back hooves as she kicked them straight into the last one.

"Anypony else wants some?" asked Pinkie Pie as she smirked at the ponies of Ponyville.

"Throw your forks!" said the bullseye stallion, "She can't dodge them all!"

"Yeah," said a mare, "She's just a lucky, stupid foal!"

Pinkie's smirk turned to a frown. She hated when ponies thought she was stupid.

'Leave her alone!' thought Rarity. Pinkie Pie looked up to see Rarity's shell open and her wings flapping vigorously. They made a buzzing whirring sound as they pumped Rarity higher into the air. And something else was happening too, Rarity's antanae were sparking, as if they were fully charged and ready to release 1000 volts into the nearest lightning rod…

The forks were released. They were sailing towards Pinkie and she was distracted by Rarity's renewed vigor. The forks came dreadfully close and then a several bolts of lightning released from Rarity's antenei, striking all the forks, burning them to cinders and sending the ashes and prongs back where they came from.

The ponies were gone. They had disappeared. But it wasn't as if they had disappeared, it was more as if they were never there. No hoof prints and no pitchfork stuck in a tree from Pinkie's kick. Nothing remained.

'Where'd everypony go?' thought Rarity to Pinkie, 'They all…'

"I know," said Pinkie out loud, "Swift is behind this. Do you think he got the others… And Twilight?"

'Yes, darling,' thought Rarity, 'That awful creature must have gotten to them too if we are stuck in this… this… horrible place.'

"I think we should find them first," said Pinkie Pie, "We need to face him together."

'Right,' thought Rarity, 'But Fluttershy is afraid of me. Though I now have you. We can visit her together and Applejack and Rainbow Dash as well. We must get inside that library. Twilight may be in there.'

"Yeah," said Pinkie, "I'm pretty sure she is in there."

The door to the library opened slowly. Though the lights were on, the doorway was dark. The physics in this world were ridiculous. Pinkie liked it, a little, but it wasn't so much fun being disliked by everypony in Ponyville.

'What should we do?' thought Rarity, 'This door may not open again. Should we go in or find the others?'

Pinkie was very curious to explore this dream library. What made it different from the real one? But her spine gave another shiver, a foreboding shiver.

"I don't know Rarity," said Pinkie Pie, "You're right. We may not have another chance to save Twilight. We can't wake up. We're stuck."

**What should they do? Go in or Find the others?**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Rainbow Dash was in quite a state. She was angry, but she was also trying her best to put up with this new arrangement. It couldn't last forever, could it?

She lay on her back in a diaper with a pacifier in her mouth in what appeared to be a horse-sized crib. This was beyond humiliating… but she had to put up with it until she was released, which was what worried her the most.

Downy Puff said she would keep Rainbow Dash forever, and that was an extremely long time for Rainbow considering she had big dreams to accomplish in her lifetime. And the whole thing seemed really immature on Downy's part. It had been some time since the two were in flight school and hadn't Downy moved on even a little?

Rainbow could understand how something like bullying could scar a pony; she wasn't unfamiliar to the problem herself. But for the most part, she had forgiven her bullies.

However, she also reflected that the difference between Downy and herself was that Rainbow didn't have it as bad as Downy had. Downy was picked on by everypony. But Rainbow had been exceptionally cruel. She pranked Downy nearly everyday and if she wasn't pranking her, she was shooting spitballs or giving her swirlies in the filly's room.

It may be that Rainbow was going to be here for a while. Her remorse told her that she belonged here for the time being, but certainly not forever. And she was going to get herself out of this situation as diplomatically as possible.

The door opened and the white pegasus, with poofy blue mane walked in.

"Ooh," she cooed, "How is my little baby today?"

Rainbow could sense the sarcasm and against all reflex to buck the pony in the head, she remained calm and acted as baby like as she could.

"Goo goo, gah gah," she said.

"Aw, now that seemed a bit half hearted, don't you think? How about we try that again." She looked at Rainbow expectantly.

Again, Rainbow uttered her baby talk and tried desperately to be sincere. "Goo goo, gah gah."

She stood (laid) corrected: this was the most humiliating thing ever. But at least no pony was every going to see her like this.

"Oh my little Dashie," she said, "Guess what's happening today? We're going for a walk in the park. Won't that be fun?"

Rainbow's eyes bugged out. The park would have ponies. Lots of ponies. She shook her head no, her face desperate for mercy.

"Oh, you don't want any fresh air, baby Dashie?" said Downy, her voice grinding Rainbow's ears. "Growing fillies need fresh air and exercise, they shouldn't be cooped inside alone in a crib all day."

Downy smiled a devious smile at Rainbow Dash. She couldn't take it any longer. She spat out her pacifier and shouted, "No way! I've played this game with you long enough. I'm sorry about what happened, but I am not going to let you bully me into any more of these games!"

"Me? A bully, Rainbow Dash?" said Downy Puff, her eyes watering up. "I had to suffer two years of your bullying. You can't even last one day?"

Rainbow softened a little, but her resolve came back quickly. "So you admit it!" she said, "You are bullying me! You really think this is going to make you feel better? To be the bully now, is that going to help you forgive me?"

"It might," said Downy her evil smile resurfacing.

"You know what?" said Rainbow Dash, "You smile way too much to be a victim. I'm outta here!" She ripped off the diaper and smashed the crib.

"You're forgetting something Dashie," said Downy, and as she spoke all the windows and doors of the house slammed shut and locked. "I control this room."

"What?" said Rainbow Dash.

"Your friends are regrouping to break out of here," said Downy, "But you will not escape."

"My friends?" said Rainbow, "Then there's nothing you can do to stop me!" She smiled and like a flash, she rammed full speed into the door. After slamming into it, she fell down on her face.

"You can't get out of here," said Downy laughing, "It's impossible."

Rainbow Dash stood up slowly. Her head was pounding. That door was solid… But it was different. It felt as if it weren't a door at all. As if it had always been solid. She looked up. The windows were gone. They all disappeared and as she looked back to the front door, she saw that it too was gone.

"Like I said," said Downy, "You can't escape. And your friends will never get to Twilight Sparkle."

Rainbow's anger rose as she flew full speed at the pony when the ground beneath rose up to block her. She stopped herself, remembering her earlier encounter with the door and watched as the wall that surrounded Downy lowered.

At that moment, Downy transformed. Her coat changed to red and antlers grew on her head just as her tail split into five and became full, bushy and fox-like. She had been Swift all along, however the colors were all wrong. This was the same Swift, right?

"Hello Rainbow Dash," said Swift, "Remember me? I don't suppose it necessary to introduce myself."

"I remember you," said Rainbow Dash, defiance on her face. She landed and trotted slowly to the fox. "It seems you have me trapped," she said, "The exits are gone. And I can't kick your ass because I'm not dumb enough to try that again."

"Oh?" said Swift, "Part of me was expecting you to be rash till the end. You don't really want to disappoint me, do you?"

Rainbow Dash stopped. "It's funny," said Rainbow Dash, "I really want to. I know I'm faster than you; I know that if I could touch you, I could give you a major beat-down. But considering the situation, I feel its time for me to try something else."

"Going to bore me, huh?"

"No," said Rainbow smiling, her eyes narrowed, "Because I think I have this figured out."

"Do tell," said Swift, his eyes narrowing at the possibility of his prey figuring out the game.

"It took a bump on the head for me to realize something. This room, this house, isn't really a house at all. You see, I know you do illusions; you told us when we first met you. But if that door was an illusion, it wouldn't have been a solid stone wall."

"Awe," said Swift feeling a bit uneasy. Recapturing his confidence, "But the mind is a very powerful instrument. All I need to do is tell you what's real and what's not and your body and mind believe it. A wooden door becomes a stone wall. A window becomes a monster's mouth. Whatever I want to show you, I can my dear."

"But you haven't yet…" said Rainbow, "Which is something else that bothers me. It's either you can't or you won't. I haven't decided which yet."

Rainbow looked for any emotion on Swift's face. His lip twitched just the slightest before he resumed his poker face. But she caught it.

"This form of yours," said Rainbow Dash, "Why red? What happened to your white coat?"

"Simple," said Swift, "I just wanted to mix things up a little."

"I don't think that's it," said Rainbow Dash, "But I'll get back to that later."

Again, Swift's mouth let go a tiny bit of betrayal before going stone cold.

"For you to be able to manipulate my senses like that," continued Rainbow Dash, "You would have to be inside my head. The best point for you to have done that would have been when I went to sleep last night. And maybe, I'm still in bed right now."

"I could enter your mind when ever I wanted, without you knowing and I could manipulate you any way I wanted," said Swift.

"But here you are, giving up the whole game, showing yourself."

"You were bound to figure it out after I locked all the doors and windows," said Swift his poker face leaving him for good.

"But you're forgetting one thing, Swift," said Rainbow Dash smiling, "You forgot to take away my free-will!"

"That doesn't matter," said Swift, laughing, "All that means is that you're free to try and tackle me."

"Which bring me back to my other point, Swift," said Rainbow Dash, "If this is a dream, then I can do what ever I want."

Swift's face faltered.

"I'll take that as a yes," said Rainbow as a million storm clouds circled around her head. "You do know what pegasus ponies do in Ponyville, right? We make storms!"

Lightning crackled from the clouds and struck out to shock Swift, but he raised the earth around him and created a barrier to shield him from the lightning.

"You know what shatters dirt? A tornado!" said Rainbow Dash.

She blew out her nostrils a wind so fierce that it ripped the earth from over Swift and tossed it against… the night sky?

Swift was gone. And so was the would-be Downy Puff house from where she was imprisoned. Rainbow Dash gave a whoop of satisfaction, but then she remembered her friends. Did they realize what was going on? Or the powers they had? This was going to be fun. And Swift had better be prepared for the whirlwind that was Rainbow Dash.


	10. Chapter 10

Twilight Sparkle was frustrated, but thankfully so was Swift. Swift had been showing Twilight many images of her friends and their "opinions" of her. And though it hurt to see them this way, she knew that these images weren't real.

Swift's frustration perplexed her. By this point she figured out that Swift wanted her to leave Ponyville. That was obvious. After playing a "video" for her inside her head (Twilight still couldn't believe she was inside her head), Swift would go on a tirade about how selfish or how conniving or how cruel her friends really were.

It all started creepily enough. Swift had chained Twilight to her bed, hoof to post, and pulled down a projector screen as well as, with his trusty remote control, a projector from the ceiling of her mind's bedroom.

The first video she saw was a scene with Rainbow Dash and Applejack talking about her. Rainbow mocking her studious habits while Applejack commented on her organized and tidy disposition. It wasn't flattering.

The second scene was with Rarity and Fluttershy talking about who was the prettiest between Rarity and Twilight. Not flattering at all.

The third was a moment where Pinky Pie and Rainbow Dash were plotting some really cruel tricks to play on Twilight. She teared up a lot. She had to hand it to Swift, he got their voices right.

She was tired. She wanted it all to end… "So, you want me to stop?" said Swift trying to sound compassionate, "All you have to do is leave Ponyville with me."

"I'm not leaving," said Twilight, shaking the tears out of her eyes, "You can't manipulate me Swift. I know you're just trying to get to me."

"But Twilight," he said, "Can't you see you are a joke to them? They don't really like you. They only keep you around as a punching bag."

"They do not."

"They use you Twilight," he said, using his most sympathetic face, "Having you around makes them feel better about themselves. You're convenient for them. They use your intelligence when they want it, but discard you when they have no use for you. Don't you remember the time they laughed at you when you were so concerned with your weekly letter to the princess?"

"They apologized for that. They're my friends."

"You don't know them Twilight. They're full of…" Swift stopped. Twilight looked up. Had somepony come to her rescue. Swift's eyes were closed. It was as if he went somewhere else…

Swift entered his own mind where he was met with six other hims sitting in a circle. Each was a different color, maintaining the black accents the original Swift had.

A purple Swift was on his right, his hind legs crossed and was in a meditative state. His eyes were closed, but in place of the purple diamond in the center of his forehead was a third eye that was wide open. Its pupil dilated and retracted as he spoke to Swift:

"Pinkie Pie and Rarity have entered. It seems that someone has opened the door for them…" said Purple Swift, still meditating.

To the right of him was a blue Swift. He seemed calm and indifferent, but his words spoke otherwise. "I don't know who did it," said Blue Swift, "But it takes a lot of energy to keep these six locked inside here. If this operation is compromised, I will not hesitate to cross any of you."

To the right of him was a green Swift who looked like he couldn't think of a better situation. "Awe, but Blue I was just interested in feeling their cutie marks if you know what I mean. I meant nothing by letting them in. Just let me keep them busy for a couple of hours."

"Charming, Green…" said Blue, "Look, we be apart of the same body, but you will suffer if this endeavor fails."

To the right of Green was a yellow and very angry Swift. "You're such an idiot, Green!" said Yellow Swift, "I'm going to punch your freaking face in!"

To the right of him was an orange Swift. He looked worried. "You guys know were screwed, right? Once they get in here they'll combine forces and use the elements of harmony just like the other times."

"That's only if we don't take certain precautions first," said Red Swift. He sat on the right of Orange and he too looked worried.

"What's wrong?" said Swift, looking to his left, "Are you hiding something Red?"

"Nothing sir," said Red.

"I know you're lying. You've been lying ever since that day…"

"Maybe I am. But you don't need to know. I have it under control."

"Red," said Blue, "The only ones who have anything under control here are Swift, Purple and myself. You four were supposed to keep the others away. What did you do?"

"I know…" said Purple, his third eye dilated and retracted again, "I saw it all, just as it happened… I saw everything just as it happened…"

"Shut up, Purple!"

"What happened, Purple," asked Swift calmly.

"Our captives have found out our little secret," he said, his eyes still closed excluding his center one, "They know where they are; they know it is a dream; they are beginning to manipulate it themselves… If this goes on, I don't need to tell you what may happen."

"They'll be able to defeat us and save their precious friend," said Blue, "Just how did Rainbow beat it out of you Red? Did she threaten to tickle you?"

"Shut up, Blue!" said Red, "I had it under control, but she startled me with her dream power. I'll be ready for her next time."

"Red, I'm gonna kick your ass!" said Yellow.

"We're doomed! I told you; didn't you hear me!" said Orange.

"We're not doomed," said Swift. The other Swifts turned and gave him their full attention. "The game has just changed; we're still in control. Purple, locate Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash."

Purple's eye dilated again and went back to normal. "Rainbow Dash has just met up with Applejack and Fluttershy at the edge of the Everfree Forest. They are planning on coming here."

"Ok," said Swift, "Where are Pinkie Pie and Rarity currently?"

The Purple fox's third eye dilated and retracted. They are just inside the front door. They are blind; it is too dark for them to see. They are about to enter the maze you have prepared for them."

"Excellent," said Swift smiling, "Alright: Blue, continue to maintain the dream trap. They can not escape. Purple, keep me informed on where they are. Orange, Green, keep our visitors company and also Green, close the damn door."

"Leave that to me, Swift," said Blue, "No one will be able to open it this time."

"Good," said Swift, "Red, Yellow, make sure the others don't get in. You hear that Blue? Let them out, but lock the door behind them. They can't come back in either."

"But sir," protested Red, "I should be, er, guarding you, or helping the others with our intruders."

"Red," said Swift, "Show me you have this under control. If you don't, Yellow has permission to beat you."

"With pleasure," said Yellow cracking his fox knuckles.

Swift exited his head and looked down to see a pondering Twilight. It was his favorite expression of hers.

"What are you pondering, Twilight?" he asked, "Your life with me?"

"No," she said disgusted, "I'm pondering how I can help my friends save me so I can kick your patooty myself!"

Swift nearly faltered, but he caught himself and said, "You just said patooty… So cute." He laughed maniacally and continued to show her more movies of her friends.


	11. Chapter 11

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew as fast as they could to Twilight's library with Applejack galloping close behind. After a long talk they understood what was going on: they were still asleep and because of this they could do whatever they wanted… Sort of.

It seemed they were limited to one power and try as they might, they were unable to exit the dream or manipulate it in any other way. They were stuck in a dream Ponyville and the only way they could get out would be together, and defeating Swift would be another issue entirely.

"So, Rainbow, um, you said there was another Swift?" said Fluttershy, trying her best to keep up.

"Yeah," said Rainbow Dash, "A red one…"

"I reckon that's a might bit curious," said Applejack, "Why would he need to change colors?"

"I don't know," said Rainbow Dash a little irritated, "Look, let's just get to Twilight and get out of here. This place has annoyed me for the last time."

Fluttershy didn't want to press the matter further. Rainbow seemed really mad for some reason. They had never discussed how she escaped her captor; Rainbow Dash just shrugged it off as no big deal and quickly changed the subject. 'If Rainbow wanted to talk about it, they could talk about it later,' Fluttershy thought.

It didn't take long to get to the library. Ponyville was still dark and it was almost hard to see the library except for a huge light coming from the front door. As they drew nearer to the light they realized what it was.

Two Swifts were sitting outside the door: a red one and a yellow one and as Fluttershy took in the scene she noticed they didn't really look like the Swift she had met the day before.

The red one, though rough-looking, hunched over, its eyes staring at them in disdain. The yellow one sat up straight and proud and looked significantly bigger than the red. One other difference was that its seven tails were lit on the end, fire crackling upward and producing the light that they saw a mile away.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy landed just as Applejack reached them. They stared at the foxes, wondering how they were going to get past them.

"You let one of these ponies beat you, Red?" asked Yellow, "That's laughable."

"Ha," said Rainbow Dash, "If you guys think you're going to keep us out of there, you'll see just how one little pony can kick your flank!" Rainbow leapt up to charge at the yellow swift.

"Hold it," said Applejack, grabbing Rainbow Dash's tail under her hoof, "Shouldn't we talk about this first?"

"Yes," said Fluttershy, "I'm sure they're reasonable creatures who will listen to… reason."

Applejack and Rainbow Dash stared and Fluttershy. "I don't think so, Shy," said Applejack, "But what I do think is that we need a strategy."

"Come at me at once," said Yellow, "Or are you chicken?"

"What did you call me?" said Applejack, fire burning in her eyes.

"You're a chicken!" said Yellow again and he proceeded to make chicken squawks. Red smiled but did not say anything.

"Tell you what RD," said Applejack, "I'll take the _yella_ one and you can tackle that red one."

"We do have unfinished business," said Rainbow Dash popping her neck.

"Wait!" shouted Fluttershy, standing between both parties, "I refuse to believe that we need to fight. Now I know deep down that Swift just wants to be friends. How about we all get together and talk about it?"

Yellow picked up Fluttershy by the tail, swung her around and flung her back down the dirt path to the Everfree Forest.

"Looks like it's plan B, AJ," said Rainbow Dash, "Let's kick some flank!"

"With pleasure," said Applejack. The two ponies were about to charge when the earth around shook and rose, lifting them high on two separate plat forms of rock: Applejack and Yellow on one and Rainbow Dash and Red on the other.

Yellow bared his fangs at Applejack. "Are you ready to fight, pony?" he said scowling.

"Sure am, _dog_!" she said as she leapt forward to tackle him.

He stood up on his hind legs and punched her in the face. Applejack flew backwards and skidded to the edge of the platform.

"Stupid pony," said Yellow, "You can't defeat me, I'm the strongest one here."

Applejack smirked, "Being the strongest one here, you sure punch like a sissy. Let me show you how we do thing on the farm…"

Red, once again, barracaded himself in a rock dome to keep Rainbow Dash out. Rainbow rammed the dome several times but it was no use, it would not break.

"Think Rainbow," she said to herself, "How can I smash through rock… Or maybe… How can I pick up rock?"

Applejack stood her ground. She was panting. "Is that all you got?" she asked. It was hard to stand now. They had exchanged several blows, however Applejack was the only one who looked worse for wear.

Yellow had not budged from his spot. His forepaws locked in a fighting stance as he sat with his fire tipped tails standing erect. He looked even more ferocious now as the sun was rising in this dream world… And he also seemed to be getting bigger.

"I have plenty more, pony," said yellow. He breathed in deeply and it was as if the suns rays were being sucked up in his lungs. He grew bigger and his fur began to glisten and move as if it were alive… It was fire! Yellow's fur turned into a coat of yellow flames. They danced and roared at Applejack, threatening to gobble her up.

Applejack gulped. "This is a mighty fine pickle," she said to herself.

Rainbow Dash was busy blowing the winds. They circled around the rock dome of Red, but were unable to creep beneath it and toss it into the air. "This is so annoying," said Rainbow Dash, "Get out and fight, you coward!"

Red did not leave his dome. Not for that. He had another plan that he had set into motion. Underneath Rainbow he was creating rock missiles that would knock her out of the sky. It was only a matter of time.

Applejack cowered at the firey Yellow. Now on all fours, he swaggered closer and closer when… _bam_! Something hit him across the face.

"What was that?" he yelled. After seeing nothing, he turned his attention back to Applejack.

_Bam_! This time it hit him right in the back. "Who's there?" he shouted again.

Applejack took this distraction as a chance to buck Yellow in the face. _Oomph_! It was a solid kick and nearly took him off his feet, but instead he fell back on his tails and kicked Applejack back to the edge of the platform.

Applejack panicked. "Psst, it's me. Fluttershy," she whispered in her ear.

Applejack was surprised, but then remembered they didn't know what Fluttershy could do. 'She must be able to turn invisible,' thought Applejack.

Fluttershy flew between the two fighters and appeared. "Please, Swift," she said sweetly, "Can't we stop this fighting and talk. I know deep down that you want to be friends."

"I'm not Swift," said Yellow glaring, "And you don't want to be friends! No one has ever wanted to be friends! We are too different!" He punched Fluttershy out of the sky.

Fluttershy, unconscious, was flying off the platform, but Applejack jumped up and caught her before she was out of reach. She thanked her legs as she plopped back down on the platform and laid Fluttershy down. She was tired she wasn't sure how far she could go, but she looked up to Yellow and saw that his fire was waning.

It was loosing intensity and Applejack was sure she knew what it was. The sun was providing Yellow with power, but now, as Applejack looked up, clouds were spreading over it.

She looked over to Rainbow Dash, who was still trying to create a powerful tornado to lift the rock dome into the air. 'I know what to do…' thought Applejack.

"Rainbow Dash," Applejack called out to the other platform, "I need your help. We need to created a massive thunderstorm."

"Kind of busy here Applejack," said Rainbow, still trying to pry the rock dome.

"Forget that," she said, "We need to work together to defeat these two."

Rainbow Dash turned around. "Sure," she said, "The quicker we get done, the quicker we get out of here."

"Jackpot," said Red inside his dome. His missiles were ready to fire, he was only waiting for the right moment to launch. 'With her back turned, she won't be able to deflect these,' thought Red. With his will, Red launched five long, rock missiles at Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow! No!" shouted Applejack.

Rainbow turned to see the missiles coming towards her and in a flash she was knocked out of the way by Fluttershy. Applejack looked back to where she had laid her down to see that she was gone. Fluttershy took all the five missiles head on and fell past the platforms to the ground below.

Rainbow Dash was furious. Her eyes lit up like beacons as dark clouds rolled in, blocking the sun entirely and enveloping the lanscape in darkness. Lightning broke out and struck wildly at the platforms. Rainbow seemed to be out of control, but at least Yellow was now distracted by the lightning striking his platform. His fur unlit and his size diminished in the covered sun. Applejack was right. Now all she had to do was buck this fox off the platform… and also avoid the lightning strikes.

Red bunkered back into his rock fortress only to find Rainbows lightning was cracking through it. Though she had lost her focus, the strikes that did hit were powerful and now a major down pour was also making it harder for Red to maintain his platforms at all.

The dirt that was mixed with the rock was melting away and cascading down the platforms like a muddy water fall. Applejack wasn't deterred one bit though. She worked in the mud all the time and also had to harvest apples in such conditions. Her body was ready for it. So with a couple of swift strides and well placed buck, she sent yellow sailing to the earth below.

Applejack positioned herself and ran full speed to the second platform. She jumped and sailed across effortlessly to the other side, crashing down on the rock with a thud. It began to crumble under Applejack's strength and she had to move quick to stay on the platform.

Rainbow flapped furiously over the platform. Her attention was drawn to the dome in the center of the platform, but she was having a hard time directing her lightning down on it. Applejack yelled up to her, "Rainbow Dash! Get a hold of yourself! I can help. I'm here, let me help you."

"He knocked Fluttershy to the ground! He has to pay for that!" said Rainbow Dash not even moving an inch.

"That may be sugarcube," said Applejack, "But you don't want to fry me along with him, do you?"

Rainbow's eyes went back to normal. What had she done? "AJ," she called, "I don't think I can stop this thing."

"Of course you can," said Applejack, "You created it; you can stop it. Just stop the lightning."

Lightning continued to strike down. Applejack ducked and dodged and narrowly missed being charred by the white rods.

"I'm trying…" said Rainbow, her eyes went white again as she tried to pull back the lightning, but it only made the clouds bigger. Applejack had a hunch, but it was going to hurt a lot.

"RD!" she called again, "Let it go!"

"What?"

"Let it go!" Applejack said again, "Bottling up your anger is only making the storm worse. Let it go! Scream!" Applejack braced herself, this was going to be one duesy of a strike.

Rainbow let out a thunderous scream that rivaled the lightning. All the clouds, in unison, struck against the platform with a huge charge of electrical energy, making the platform explode.

Rainbow Dash flapped lightly as she descended to the charred landscape below. She was exhausted and extremely sad. Fluttershy… Applejack… gone… Tears streamed down her face as she fell face first into the mud. It was cool and moist… It reminded her of the times she and Applejack would wrestle on rainy days and almost always catch a cold the next day…

_Splat_!

Something hit the back of her flank. It felt like a mud ball. Rainbow Dash stood up and turned around to see Fluttershy and Applejack standing behind her. Both looked like they'd been having tea in a hurricane. Their manes tangled and messy and Applejack had numerous singe marks on her coat.

"Applejack… Fluttershy…" said Rainbow Dash, "I'm so sorry!"

She ran to them and hugged them in a big group hug. "It's ok now, RD," said Applejack, "We did it."

"I'm not sure how you did it," said Fluttershy, "But it seems a lot brighter out here. I'm just sad that we had to so what we did."

"Shy," said Applejack, "Those foxes were fixing to do the same to us."

"Yes, but he really is hurt and lonely," said Fluttershy.

"Who is?" said Rainbow Dash, "Swift?"

"Yes," said Fluttershy, "I could feel it from both of them."

"And how in tar nation do you figure that?" said Applejack.

"I've worked with animals my entire life," said Fluttershy, "I can tell."

"So what you stupid ponies," said a voice from behind them, "We may be lonely, but we have each other."

It was Yellow. He and Red stood behind them ready to fight again.

"But you're all the same fox. You need others to care for and to care for you," said Fluttershy.

"Shut up!" said Yellow, "What do you know anyway? You're all the same! All you see is our differences! And you all think your better because you're all alike! None of you are like me!"

"I was alone once," said Fluttershy, "Believe it or not, I'm not the best flyer. As a pegasus, its kind of strange. But I found friends on the ground that I wouldn't have met in the air. Sometimes you just have to look elsewhere to find friends and family."

Red's face quivered a bit. "Pah!" said Yellow, "Did your kind tease you too?"

"Yes…" said Fluttershy.

"Did they make fun of you?"

"Yes…"

"Did they try to kill you?"

"…"

"No? I didn't think so. We have no one!"

"Maybe you could have me." said Fluttershy. She trotted right up to Yellow and smiled.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash got ready to brawl, though neither was up for it.

"You! You?" said Yellow…

She nuzzled his chest. "You're just like me. Can I be your friend?"

Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Red's jaws dropped. Yellow flinched. "I…" he said, "I…" His face faltered. He felt weak and his eyes welled up. "I'm not sure I'm ready," he said.

His color began to fade; Red's color as well was fading and the two became more and more transparent.

"I've been running for so long," said Red, "I've been afraid of everyone; afraid they wouldn't accept me for who I was. I just kept running away…"

"I've been tough for so long," said Yellow, "I've put on a strong face and pushed everyone away because I didn't think they wanted me."

"I thought," said Red and Yellow together, "They hated me…" The two faded away.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash still had their jaws wide open. They couldn't believe what just happened.

"Holy cow, Fluttershy!" said Rainbow Dash tackling her, "How did you know that would work?"

"I didn't," she said, "Like I said before, they needed someone to care for them."

"Well I reckon that was a mighty thing to say after all of this," said Applejack, "I'm very impressed."

"Ditto!" said Rainbow Dash.

"Thanks," said Fluttershy, "But we should find the other quickly."

"Right!" AJ and RD said together. The three turned towards Twilight's library once again and to their surprise, the door swung wide open.


	12. Chapter 12

_Earlier… _

Pinkie Pie and Rarity chose to go through the door. Though they were anxious to reunite the whole team, who knew how long it would take to find Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy and the door to Twilight's library may not be open to them for long if they decided to go looking.

They didn't want to split up either. They may need each other if something were to happen…

Upon entering the library, the door slammed shut and locked. Rarity, in her present cockroach state, could no longer use magic, but she tried zapping it with electricity. It was no use, however, and the two found themselves facing a dark room where they couldn't see their feet in front of them.

'Ooh!' thought Rarity to Pinkie Pie, 'Pinkie why did you stop?'

"Rarity," said Pinkie aloud, "Am I a big nuisance to everyone?"

'What are you talking about, darling?'

"I mean," said Pinkie, "I know this is a dream and I know that Swift is trying to mess with our heads… But I also know that sometimes I may get a little carried away…

'A little? I mean, sweetie, we all get a little carried away when we do things we really enjoy. It's not a crime to enjoy yourself. I for one believe that your exuberance is something to be appreciated.'

"Thanks, Rarity," said Pinkie, she smiled but she still felt uneasy about herself.

'Oomph!' thought Rarity, 'I just ran into a wall. If I can't see where I'm going, I'm going to have bruises all over my face. I suppose it's not that big of a deal. I do look hideous in my current state. Thank Celestia this is a dream! I don't know what I would do… Although, these electric antennae give me and idea.

'I noticed that they give off light when I zap things,' thought Rarity, 'Maybe I can control it enough…'

Rarity charged up her antennae and the energy began to light up the room. They saw what lie ahead of them. A couple of feet in front of them was the start of a hedge maze.

'Really? Another maze? How drawl. I miss the days we faced proper villains.' thought Rarity. But suddenly Rarity lost control of the spark and it discharged over the maze.

"Yeah, I suppose," said Pinkie Pie, still a little down.

'Now sweetie, you cheer up,' thought Rarity, 'We'll need you at your best to get through this, ugh, _maze_.'

The two continued forward, feeling around with their… limbs to figure out where to go. It wasn't going too well.

'Ooh!' thought Rarity, 'This is ridiculous! She let off another spark to see where they were. The entrance was over to the right of where they were. 'I could have sworn we were going right for it.'

"Gee, it's like they don't want us to enter the maze at all," said Pinkie then she got a twinge. Something was nearby.

Rarity looked at Pinkie with a _no duh _expression. "What?" said Pinkie, self-conscious again.

'Didn't you feel something just now? I noticed your Pinkie sense,' thought Rarity, changing the subject.

'Oh, yeah,' thought Pinkie Pie back at Rarity, 'I think I feel someone in the room with us.'

'Oh?' thought Rarity, 'Can you pinpoint where?'

'Somewhere over there,' thought Pinkie.

'Maybe I can blast them!' thought Rarity.

'Too complicated,' thought Pinkie.

'Why?' thought Rarity.

'If you blast _at_ them, that's no sure way you'll hit them. We're blind. No idea where they are. Our best strategy is to lure them out a different way.'

Rarity was surprised. 'Pinkie, that's brilliant!'

'Well duh,' thought Pinkie feeling a little better now, 'Just cause I like to party, doesn't mean I'm dumb.'

'I hope you know that none of us ever thought that,' thought Rarity.

'I know, Rarity,' thought Pinkie, 'and thanks.' The two smiled as they came up with a perfect plan to get their watchers out.

"Oh, it is a shame that Rarity is all buggy now. She was my favorite," said Green as he and orange watched from a hedge top.

"I think they know we're here," said Orange, "I told you we shouldn't get this close. They're going to see us and then we're doomed!"

"Chill out, Orange," said Green calmly, "Those two ponies couldn't overpower us. Not even if their friends were here. Besides, the pink one has a nice flank too. Don't you agree?"

'Ok, ready?' thought Rarity.

'Got it!' thought Pinkie Pie. "Oh how will we get across this maze in the dark! We'll never rescue Twilight at this rate," said Pinkie dramatically.

'Good!' thought Rarity, 'Now sell it!'

"I would do anything to save her!" said Pinkie Pie, "Anything, if anypony was to help me! Oh!" Pinkie fell to the ground in a dramatic faint.

'Good!' thought Rarity, 'This will get them.'

"You here that Orange," said Green, "Anything!"

"Green," said Orange, "You can't be serious. What if they have cannons or lasers or, or…"

"They can't overpower the two of us. Besides, two of them, two of us. You can have the buggy one."

"But Green," said Orange, "If Swift finds out, we're doomed!"

"Swift, Shmift," said Green, "I'm getting some flank."

Green jumped from the hedge top and the lights turned on. Orange followed reluctantly behind him.

'The lights are on,' thought Pinkie.

'Yes, he's coming to take you in a passionate embrace and leave you quivering as he thrusts his member inside you…'

"He's what!" shouted Pinkie. She immediately shoved her hoof in her mouth to quiet herself. 'What is he going to do to me?' she thought.

'Well,' thought Rarity, 'You did say _anything_.'

'Because you told me to!'

'I know, darling,' thought Rarity, 'You're not _really_ going to _let _him. Play hard to get; you're good at that.'

"I'm good at what!"

"Good at looking _good_," said Green as he approached.

'What a dork,' thought Rarity.

"Hello ladies," he said, "I would be happy to guide you through this maze, but there is the little matter of _payment_."

"What did you have in mind?" said Pinkie, trying to remain calm and sexy at the same time.

"Well we were…" said Green, looking over his shoulder, "Orange, come over here! They don't bite. Well maybe the roach queen."

'How rude!' thought Rarity.

Orange came out of the maze. "Swift is going to be _extremely _mad at us Green." Orange began to hyperventilate.

"Calm down Orange!" said Green, "I'm giving you a dose, ok?"

Green glowed with green energy as he released it to Orange, who immediately calmed down. His breathing slowed and a smile drifted across his face.

"I can get anyone in the mood darling," said Green to Pinkie, "You just got to give me a chance." He smiled and his energy seemed to seep from him to Pinkie. She was beginning to feel a bit of an attraction to him… 'No!' she screamed inside her head.

"How about you take me into the maze," said Pinkie walking towards the entrance, "So we can be alone." She flicked her tail across his face in what she hoped was a playful way and narrowed her eyes as dreamily as she could. 'How can Rarity _do_ this kind of stuff?' thought Pinkie, 'Charm is not my skill set…'

'You can say that again,' thought Rarity, 'Be more playful. Just change the subject. He'll want to hear more about himself and…'

"Hey little bug," said Orange to Rarity, "Will you be my friend?"

'Oh, um…' thought Rarity as Pinkie and Green dashed to the maze.

"Oh you can't talk, can you?" said Orange, "Hold on, I can fix that."

He glowed orange and released his energy to Rarity. Her body immediately transformed, nearly all the way back. Her horn grew back into place and her face transfigured back to its perfect pony form. Her extra pair of legs shrunk back into her body as it changed white and soft. Her hooves reformed and her mane and tail grew back.

"I'm me again!" she shouted as she flew up, "Oh, not quite." Her eyes were still compound and she felt her antennae on her head as well as the glass-like wings on her back.

"Sorry," said Orange, "That's the best I can do. Swift will destroy me if I did any more."

'Oh?' thought Rarity, "Well that's alright. I'm glad to have most of my body back to normal. You know, you seem like a nice, gentle, handsome fellow, would you mind telling me a little about yourself?"

"Darling," said Green, "Aren't we far enough in yet? I'm sure that the bug and the dork won't hear any of our love making."

Pinkie gagged. "But Greeny, didn't you say there was a really special place in the maze?" asked Pinkie Pie, "You know, a place with trees and flowers and a staircase that leads up to the next floor."

"Oh are you worried about your friend?" said Green, "I promise that I will take you to her after we have a little fun."

"No!" said Pinkie as Green advanced. "I mean, yes, but I need to get in the mood for this. It will be my first time and all."

"First time with a fox like me?"

"First time, first time," she said, "A girl needs it to be special. Like with cake!"

"Cake?"

"Yeah! Cake, lots of cake and flowers and trees and a staircase up to the next level…"

"Well Orange," said Rarity, "I'm sorry to hear about that. Your childhood sounds simply awful. I can't believe your friends shunned you when they found out you were magical. Why for us in the pony community, it's taught that each of us has a little magic, even if unicorns are the only ones that can perform it. I never knew foxes could be so cruel. Have you seen any of them since?"

"They're all dead…" said Orange.

"Dead?" asked Rarity, making sure to keep her voice even.

"Oh, sorry," said Orange, "I've outlived them. I'm over 2000 years old; I don't typically talk about it. It hurts a lot. I've been so lonely, for so long that I haven't really felt any warmth or encouragement or love… For such a long time."

Rarity stopped him and kissed his cheek. "I understand what it feels like to be lonely. Though I've never really had it as bad as you, I know that even a little bit hurts. I hope that, sincerely, I can be your friend."

"I feel that about you," he said, the color draining from his face, "I feel that you are on of the kindest and most generous ponies in Equestria. Thank you for understanding me."

He leaned in and kissed her back and as he did he faded away and so did the rest of Rarity's bugness.

Deep in the maze, Pinkie Pie's heart pounded against her chest. She had been running so hard that she felt it was about the break though her ribcage. She ducked behind a wall and pressed herself against it.

'This guy seriously wants to mate…' she thought. 'He won't listen to reason…'

"Pinkie Pie," he called, "Come out, come out, my soft candy. I want to taste your sugar."

Pinkie face contorted and her stomach pulled in, she wanted to puke but she had to resist. 'What would Rarity do? I've got to be cool. But he is _really_ grabby… Look at me… Never been on a date in my life… What is the most sensible thing to do in this situation?'

"Found you, sexy!"

Pinkie Pie's spine shivered. She gasped and reacted with a buck, sending him flying over the maze walls, until a gust of wind caught him. He floated for a minute, his eyes glowing bright as beacons and he descended downward like a pony descending a stairway. Pinkie gaped at this sudden change. His lips rose up baring his teeth and his brows knit together. He was not amused.

"Pinkie Pie," he said, "I have ways of making you do what I want. Don't make me resort to that. Take it willingly!"

Pinkie Pie stared into his eyes. Sweat glistened on her face as she saw him glow green, ready to release his energy into her. Then her vision turned panoramic, and she began to see the entire scene unfold in her head.

She knew what was behind those eyes. It wasn't anger or malice; it was desperation. His face reeked of it and so did the energy around him. Why was he desperate? Her mind calculated and processed, it ran miles in seconds and she began to see him the way he was… It came down to whether she could do what she needed to do…

"Alright, Stud," she said, winking one bedroom eye at him, "I think we've had enough fun. Why don't we get done to business?" She assumed the position and waited for moment.

Green's eyes turned back to normal. "Are you sure? I mean, you want me to?"

"Of course I do, sexy."

Green turned away. "You, find me attractive? You want to be mine?"

"Duh, baby!" She turned around and faced him, her eyes glistening as she stared into his. "Are you game, Mr.?"

She advanced toward him. "I, I, but you were running away just a minute ago…"

"Just playing hard to get," she said winking, "I thought you knew all about that."

"No one… I mean… I," Green backed up until he hit the wall of the maze.

"What's wrong, baby? Don't you want me anymore?"

"I just, I haven't… This isn't…"

"You're sweating, hun. Let me get that for you." Pinkie Pie wiped his brow and moved in closer to his face. "Your eyes are beautiful, baby," she said.

"Um, gulp, thank you," he said, "Are you feeling hot? I don't think I can stand the…"

Pinkie Pie moved her hoof to his chest and drew circles. "You're really strong," she said, "I like that."

"Pinkie Pie," he said, "I know that I was chasing you earlier and I recall you were very interested in the welfare of your friend. I can take straight to her if you'd like. If fact the staircase is right there."

Pinkie looked to where Green was pointing. A staircase was there, but where it had come from was another story entirely. She had been keeping an eye on where they were during her charade. Her Pinkie sense didn't pick up any doors or open walls, everything was closed a minute ago.

"Oh, Twilight can wait," said Pinkie, looking deep inside his eyes, "She's probably reading a book. Why are you so eager to help me all of a sudden? I thought you wanted a piece of my flank?"

"I did, I mean I do," he said, "I just thought that, maybe, we could do that later…"

Pinkie put her hoof to his mouth. "Shhhh…" she said, "Let me make you more comfortable…"

She pressed her lips to his and held it there for a while and finally released. His face was scarlet, his member unsheathed…

'Oh…' thought Pinkie Pie, 'Went a little too far…'

"I'm sorry, Pinkie Pie," he said. She didn't think he could get any redder. "I'm so embarrassed. I just… don't think… that we are… compatible…"

"What do you mean?" Pinkie's changed slightly, back to normal.

"I mean," he said, "I'm not ready for that… level of… intimacy… I've never…"

"I've never also," said Pinkie, "I told you that."

"Yeah, but you must have a lot of stallions coming to court you, right? You're breath-taking."

It was Pinkie's turn to blush. This was going better than she thought it would. Thank Celestia for her Pinkie sense.

"And you're pretty good-looking yourself. So why the change of heart? You have me, why don't you want me?"

"I don't know… What's wrong with me?"

His eyes turned white again and a hurricane picked up inside the room. The maze was ripped up by the roots and everything was flung into a storm, spinning around the room, Rarity and Pinkie Pie included.

"What did you do?" shouted Rarity.

"I made him share his feelings," shouted Pinkie Pie, "Was that bad?"

"Pinkie," said Rarity, her eyes wide in horror, "You should never make a male share his feelings!"

The winds spiraled faster and faster and in the middle of it all, Green floated, as if unaware of the mayhem surrounding him. His face pointed upward, his mouth wide open, howling a mournful note that continued for what felt like forever.

Pinkie swam towards Green as fast as she could. Her stomach felt queasy, and her eyes felt like they were going to fly out, but she closed her eyes and continued forward. "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…"

As she reached Green, she flung her hooves around his neck and then she felt his heart beat. Hers and his joined and she saw a memory from long ago.

Swift was walking in what looked like a garden. He was young, a little pup with two tails and antlers. Pinkie also saw the other foxes. They all looked so plain in comparison. Frolicking in the meadow and playing with each other.

Swift was carrying something in his mouth. It was a bouquet of flowers. 'Aww,' she thought, 'I wonder who he has a crush on…'

Pinkie watched as Swift approached a young vixen, probably about his age, and lay the flowers behind her.

"Lily," he said, "I was wondering if you would like to come with me to the Summer Solstice festival, as my… date?"

Lily turned. She was a very pretty fox. Pinkie could feel Swift's feelings for her as if they were her own. Her feet would have felt lighter than air if she wasn't already swirling in a vortex.

Her face was plain. Her eyes traveled to the flowers and she looked back at him. Nothing, no emotion, no reaction at all and then she rolled her eyes and turned around. "Who would ever want to date _you_? You're gross! Your coat is the wrong color. You have those ugly horns coming out of your head. You have two tails. You do that freaky _magic_. No vixen in their right mind would _date_ you!"

Pinkie felt Swift's heart sink. It was so heavy, like a cement block diving deeper and deeper into an ocean. Her breath stopped for a minute; she had to re-teach herself how to breath as she saw Swift walk away. His face cast down, his eyes welled up with tears and they trickled down his face and onto the ground.

She saw three older foxes bully him. She saw where he lived, an empty den with no one inside. Alone…

Pinkie couldn't hold it in. What was this? She held Swift tighter and kissed him. "I'm sorry!" she said, "I'm so sorry!" She repeated herself over and over while kissing his face and his neck. "I love you!" she said and the whirlwind stopped. Everything dropped. Rarity landed with a thud into the twisted rubbish that used to be the hedges.

Pinkie dangled from Green, who was still suspended in the air. His eyes went back to normal and he looked at her full of love. "I love you too," he said and he disappeared, but not before landing Pinkie Pie safely on the ground.


	13. Chapter 13

Several minutes past after Pinkie descended to the ground. Her eyes welled up as Green evaporated into nothing, leaving behind the memory of a lost love. Pinkie couldn't help herself; she sobbed at his departure, leaving Rarity bewildered.

She immediately galloped over and held Pinkie in her hooves, patting her back and stroking her tangle of pink hair.

"It's alright now, Pinkie," said Rarity, "We got rid of them. All we need to do now is rescue Twilight."

"Did you see it?" asked Pinkie between sobs, "Did you see what happened to him?"

"I'm sorry?" said Rarity, "What happened to whom?"

"He was bullied as a pup," said Pinkie, pouting.

"Oh…" said Rarity, rolling her eyes, "Just because he was bullied, doesn't give him a right to bully others."

"I know, but…"

"Honestly, Pinkie, he's a bad egg," she continued, "You shouldn't sympathize with him; he probably created that memory to manipulate you."

"Maybe…" Pinky thought. She hated to think that such an intimate experience could be faked. Maybe it all was a ploy to confuse them.

_Bang, bang_, the library door shook from the other side. It sounded like something was trying to get in.

"What now?" said Rarity, "There better not be any more foxes behind that door." She walked towards the door when it creaked open. Applejack and Rainbow Dash ran through and collided with her. Fluttershy peaked around the corner and when she saw Rarity and Pinkie Pie, a smile spread across her face.

"Rarity, Pinkie, you're here. I was afraid you two were lost." She trotted over to the pile of ponies that seemed tangled in each others limbs and manes and began to help them up.

"Thank you, Fluttershy," said Rarity, as she began to dust off her coat, "I suppose it's a good thing that you three **barged** in, but do it a bit more **gently** next time."

"It's not our fault the door just opened up like that," said Rainbow Dash.

"Dash is right, Rarity," said Applejack, placing her hat back on her head, "We tried just opening it, but it was locked. So we had no other choice but to bust through it."

"And muss up my coat," said Rarity, "Honestly, even if this is a dream, I can't go walking around all messy."

"I think we have bigger problems, girls," said Pinkie Pie, she resumed her serious expression, "We still need to save Twilight and defeat Swift. He seems to be creating fake memories to confuse us."

She explained what happened between her and Green, and then Fluttershy explained what happened to the three of them.

"I don't know, Pinkie," said Fluttershy, "Do you really think they're fake? I mean, I feel like they were honest."

"Think about it, Shy," said Applejack, "We don't know how many foxes are left or anything. Those memories could have been created to make us feel sorry for that lonesome critter."

"Applejack's right!" said Rainbow Dash, "From now on, we kick the crap out of that fox!"

_Clap, Clap…_

The girls looked in the direction of the staircase, and walking down on his hind legs was a blue Swift. He looked amused, his lips spread across his face, but his eyes were leering, challenging them to the next step in their quest.

Fluttershy shook at his approach, but the rest glared in defiance.

"Well done, my little ponies," said Blue still clapping, "You managed to get this far, but your Twilight Sparkle is now ours. A pity you took so long in getting here."

"Give us back Twilight!" shouted Pinkie.

"Aw," said Blue, "You still think you can save her? That's adorable. No, no, you might as well return to your beds, fillies. She belongs to us."

"We're not leaving without Twilight," said Rainbow Dash taking another step forward.

"Oh?" said Blue, still smiling his awful smile, "Maybe we should let her decide."

Blue turned towards the top of the stairs, and as he did, the girls followed his gaze to see Twilight at the top.

She looked at them blankly, as if she didn't recognize them, as if there was some sort of distance between them that could never be bridged.

"Twilight, darling," said Rarity, "Are you alright? You look dreadful."

"I suppose I always look dreadful to you, Rarity," said Twilight, "And Fluttershy, don't you agree? You're just so agreeable! You have no thoughts of your own!"

"Wha, what do you mean?" said Fluttershy.

"Darling, what did they do to you?"

"They just showed me the truth about you all," said Twilight, "How you all laugh about me behind my back!"

"We'd never do that, Sugarcube," said Applejack, "We're your friends."

"They're trying to manipulate you, Twilight," said Pinkie Pie.

"No. They showed me the truth." Twilight turned around and walked through the doorway to the upstairs.

Rainbow Dash flew up to follow her, but the door swung closed. "What did you do to her?" she shouted at Blue.

"We showed her the truth," said Blue, his smile never waning, "If you stick around for a bit, we could show you too."

The room changed. Rainbow Dash looked around, to see that she was in Cloudsdale. The others were missing.

"What the?" she said.

"Miss Dash," said Blue walking towards her, now on all fours. He didn't fall through the clouds.

"We're not in cloudsdale!" she said.

"Of course we're not. We're still in the dream. I just wanted to get you alone."

Rarity found herself in her boutique. "Oh my!" she said, "Did I wake up?"

"No," said Blue, opening her door, "Miss Rarity, we need to chat."

Fluttershy found herself outside her cottage in front of her hen house. Blue walked out, petting a hen in his arms.

Applejack was walking in Sweet Apple Acres. "Where, what?" An apple hit her in the head. She looked up to see Blue sitting in a tree eating an apple.

Pinkie awoke in the Cake twin's playroom. The twins rustled restlessly in their cribs, cooing at Pinkie to come and play.

"Was it all just a dream?" said Pinkie staring at the cribs.

"Yes it was," said Blue walking inside, "And still is."

Pinkie glared at Blue. "Where are my friends?"

"They're fine. I just wanted to get some alone time with you," he said smiling. "You know Pinkie, we're not so different, you and I. We live in a world that doesn't understand us, and being ourselves doesn't always leave a good impression."

"You're not getting in my head Blue! I'm on to you and your mind tricks!" Pinkie closed her left eye and opened her right eye really wide, bulging out. Blue laughed.

"I was wondering when the real Pinkie Pie would come back. You're not so fun all serious."

"That's what I thought," said Pinkie Pie. "It seems like everyone… Hey wait a minute, you're still trying to confuse me!"

"Am I?" said Blue frowning. "Pinkie, sometimes you do go a little too far."

"Twilight thinks so too…"

"Yes. She's told us all about it. How you can't stand the idea of somepony not wanting to be your friend."

"Well I can't. They need to have a good reason and there isn't a good reason to not want to be friends."

Blue paused. "So, what you're saying is that friendship is easy?"

"Yes, it is," said Pinkie, thinking about her friends.

Blue frowned. "I know what happened between you ponies and my other parts. They're gone, evaporated. I don't know how you did that, and frankly I don't really care. Three Swifts is two too many already…

"What I do know is that I control this landscape."

Pinkie turned around, and instead of the baby Cakes' room, they were in the park sitting on a bench.

"I control where you go, what you see, what you experience. I can even let you go. I know you and your friends are desperate to escape this game, and I would be more than happy to oblige. The only thing you have to do is to leave Twilight with us.

Pinkie glared at him. "We're not leaving without Twilight."

"I see…" he said, tapping his paw on the ground. "So the game must continue then…"

Pinkie's face softened. "Look, Blue, your loneliness… I can't relate to you. I've always had friends and family around me. Twilight is one of my best friends; she's a big part of my family. I can't let you have her."

Blue stared off into the empty landscape, concentrating on some invisible feature in the distance.

"If you release Twilight," said Pinkie, "I think we could be friends."

Pinkie found herself back in the downstairs of the library with the others. Blue was at the top of the stairs once again, sneering as his paw grabbed the doorknob behind him.

"I think you five have worn out your welcome." he said, "I'd stick around, but the game must go on. Have fun with this next part."

Under the stairs a door opened and out crawled a large, purple dragon, craning its long neck in their direction baring its teeth.


End file.
